By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits increased last week, economists estimated on Thursday, and more people were collecting unemployment checks in early October amid easing labor market conditions.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 232,000 for the week ended October 18 from 220,000 the prior week, economists at Citigroup and Nationwide calculated. Goldman Sachs estimated claims at 227,000 while JPMorgan put the number at 229,000.

Claims data was unavailable for Tennessee, Massachusetts and Colorado. But economists made assumptions for the three states, similar to what the Labor Department would normally do when data is not available.

States continue to collect the claims f

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