CNN  —  The number of Americans receiving jobless benefits for multiple weeks climbed to its highest level since November 2021, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The latest data is an indication that unemployed Americans may be having more trouble in landing work: The number of continuing claims, which are filed by people who have received unemployment benefits for at least one week or more, increased to 1.839 million from 1.821 million for the week ended June 15. However, there was a slight drop in the number of Americans filing for unemployment for the first time: There were 233,000 first-time claims made during the week ended June 22, a decline of 6,000 from the prior week’s upwardly revised level of 239,000. While the number of initial claims remain near pre-pandemic levels, they’ve inched higher in recent weeks. The four-week average of 236,000 claims is the highest since early September of last year. Weekly jobless claims data, which is looked at as a proxy for layoff activity, can be highly volatile and is frequently revised.