The Labor Department released a report on Thursday unexpectedly showing another modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended July 16th.
The report showed initial jobless claims crept up to 251,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 244,000. The uptick surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to edge down to 240,000.
Jobless claims inched higher for the third straight week, reaching their highest level since hitting 265,000 in the week ended November 13, 2021.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged up to 240,500, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 236,000.
