WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, indicating the labor market remains tight despite the Federal Reserve's attempt to cool demand with aggressive interest rate increases.

The weekly unemployment claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy's health, suggested that job growth remained solid this month.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 213,000 for the week ended Sept.

Data for the prior week was revised to show 5,000 fewer applications filed than previously reported.

Unadjusted claims rose 19,385 to a still-low 171,562 last week.

The claims report covered the period during which the government surveyed businesses for the nonfarm payrolls portion of September's employment report.

The claims report showed the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid decreased 22,000 to 1.379 million in the week ending Sept.

Data next week on the so-called continuing claims, a proxy for hiring, will shed more light on September's employment picture.

The Fed on Wednesday raised its median forecast for the unemployment rate this year to 3.8% from its previous forecast of 3.7% in June.

The jobless rate rose to 3.7% in August from 3.5% in July.

"Historically, an increase in the unemployment rate of this magnitude over a year has been followed by a recession," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.