(Bloomberg) — More Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits for the first time in five weeks, displaying the typical year-end holiday swings that make the data difficult to interpret.

Jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 298,000 in the week ended Dec. 27, from a revised 281,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 290,000. No states estimated data and there was nothing unusual in the report, a spokesman said as the figures were released.

The number of applications can fluctuate during this time of year as the holidays make it tough to adjust the data for seasonal variations. Employers are dismissing fewer workers and adding staff as household purchases pick up, driven by a drop in gasoline costs that will keep boosting the economic expansion.