The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, a reminder that companies will keep cutting staff even as the economy stabilizes.

Initial jobless claims rose by 15,000 to 627,000 in the week ended June 20, from a revised 612,000 the week before, the Labor Department said yesterday in Washington.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed gross domestic product shrank at a 5.5 percent annual pace in the first three months of the year.