The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits surged last week, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a report on Thursday.

In the week ending Jan. 26, initial claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 53,000 to a seasonally adjusted 253,000, the highest level since Sept. 30, 2017. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 to 200,000.

The report also showed that four-week average grew 5,000 to 220,250 last week.

The MarketWatch, a financial news website, said the spike in jobless claims last week stemmed mostly from "seasonal quirks" and are "likely to fade soon."

The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, or continuing claims, rose by 69,000 to 1.78 million during the week ending Jan. 19.

The 35-day partial government shutdown, which ended Friday, had impacted the claims data. The initial claims for unemployment benefits filed by federal employees totaled 14,739 in the week ending Jan. 19, down by 10,680 from the previous week, but still significantly higher than the 1,004 a year ago.

Federal employees file jobless claims under a separate program, and the figure is reported with a one-week lag.

The shutdown had forced about 420,000 "essential" employees to work without pay, and 380,000 others to take unpaid leave. More than 1 million federal contractors were also affected.