- Claims for unemployment benefits grow in the United States.
- 7,000 new applications are counted in one week.
- The figure is higher than expected by analysts.
U.S. jobless claims rose last week to 251,000 compared to 244,000 the previous week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported.
This new weekly figure exceeds analysts’ estimates. Average claims for the past month stand at 240,500 compared to 235,000 through last week.
In the week ending July 9 there were 1.38 million people receiving this social benefit, compared to 1.33 million the previous week.
The claims data do not suggest that layoffs have begun in any significant way. However, the concern is underpinned by the continued slow weekly demand for these kinds of claims.
The Federal Reserve is closely watching this kind of data for a sign that inflation may begin to slow. Nevertheless, the Fed remains firm in tightening monetary policy until it achieves its 2% target.
