The data from
the Labour Department revealed on
Thursday the number of applications for unemployment rose much more than expected last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits climbed by 14,000 to 235,000 for the week ended July 27. This marked the highest weekly total since early August 2023. Economists had predicted
236,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the
prior week were left unrevised at 235,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims increased to 238,000 from an unrevised 235,500 in the previous
week. This was the highest count in four weeks.
As for
continuing claims, they advanced to 1,977,000 compared to a downwardly revised 1,844000
(from 1,851,000) in the previous week. This represented the
highest reading since late November 2021. Economists
had anticipated continuing jobless claims of 1,860,000.