WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week posted the biggest increase in two months, but jobless claims nationwide are still exceedingly low amid an uptick in hiring and relatively few layoffs.

Initial jobless claims rose by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 290,000 in the seven days ended Nov. 8, the Labor Department said Thursday. One year earlier, claims were 15% higher at 342,000.

Despite the increase in early November, jobless claims have clung below the key 300,000 level for nine straight weeks. The last time that happened was at the end of an Internet-fueled economic boom in 2000.

The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, climbed by 6,000 to a still-low 285,000. The four-week average reduces seasonal volatility in the weekly report and is a more accurate barometer of labor-market trends.

Initial claims are a proxy for how many layoffs are occurring in the economy, but the number usually moves in tandem with a pickup in hiring.

The U.S. has added 200,000 jobs or more for nine straight months — a feat last accomplished in 1994 — and the economy is on track for the biggest gain in employment in almost a decade. As a result, the unemployment rate sank a six-year low of 5.8% in October.

Even with the upsurge in hiring, however, the labor market is not fully healed. Some 18.2 million Americans say they still cannot find a full-time job, an unusually high number five years into an economic recovery. And wages are barely rising faster than the annual increase in inflation.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said continuing claims increased by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.39 million in the week ended Nov. 1. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits.