U.S. jobless claims rose slightly in the week from April 26 to May 2, but the number of individuals applying for unemployment benefits remains near a 15-year low, MarketWatch reported.

The publication said it had expected claims to rise to a seasonally adjusted 277,000, from 262,000 in the prior week. The actual tally came in at 265,000, according to official figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Economists tend to pay close attention to the 300,000-claim threshold. If the total number of applications remains below that figure, the job market is considered to be growing, according to Voice of America.

The numbers published during the previous week had marked the lowest reading since April 2000, and the sustained strength suggests the sharp decline in the labor market bserved in March was only a temporary downturn, Reuters analyzed.

Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina, shared the newswire's optimism.

"This provides support that March's weakness was temporary and it underpins expectations that non-farm hiring will rebound in April and continue to post healthy rates of job growth in the coming months," Bullard said.

CNBC suggested the temporary drop may have been due to "a mix of cold weather, a strong dollar, port disruptions and deep spending cuts by energy firms." And, a job market that continues to perform well would likely keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates this year, Reuters noted.

While last week's claims will not form part on Friday's employment report for April, the low trend in claims suggests non-farm payrolls rebounded last month. A survey of economists forecast non-farm payrolls increased to 224,000 in April after gaining 126,000 in March.

"This report leaves us fairly comfortable with our view that payrolls in April grew by around 200,000," John Ryding, chief economist at New York's RDQ Economics, told the newswire.