The data from the Labor Department revealed on Thursday the number of
applications for unemployment increased more than expected last week.
According to the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits rose
by 6,000 to 260,000 for the week ended July 30.
Economists had foreseen 259,000 new claims last week.
Claims for
the prior week were revised downwardly to 254,000 from the initial estimate of
256,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of jobless claims jumped to 254,750
from a downwardly revised 248,750 (from 249,250) in the previous week. This was
the highest count since the week ended November 27, 2021 (257,000).
As for continuing claims, they climbed to 1,416,000 from an upwardly revised
1,368,000 (from 1,359,000) in the previous week. This represented the highest
reading since the week ended April 2 (1,474,000).