The data from
the Labour Department reported on
Thursday the number of applications for unemployment rose more than anticipated last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits increased by 3,000 to 238,000
for the week ended June 29. This marked the first advance in first-time
unemployment claims in three weeks.
Economists had predicted
236,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week
were revised upwardly to 234,000 from the original estimate of 233,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims jumped to 238,500 from an upwardly unrevised 236,250 (from 236,000) in the previous
week. This was the highest count since
the week ended August 26, 2023 (245,250).
As for
continuing claims, they climbed to 1,858,000 compared to a downwardly revised 1,832,000
(from 1,839,000) in the previous week. This was the highest reading since
the week ended November 27, 2021 (~1,880,000). Economists had predicted continuing jobless claims of 1,840,000.