First-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 7,000 to 319,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The gain was in line with expectations on Wall Street. A "significant" portion of the gain was due to annual auto-plant retooling and to schools closing for the summer, a Labor Department spokesman said. The four-week moving average of new claims fell by 3,500 to 320,000, the lowest in four months. The number of laid-off workers collecting state unemployment checks fell by 16,000 in the week ending June 25 to 2.581 million, the lowest in six weeks.