New applications for unemployment benefits climbed again last week, reaching their highest point since late last year, in a sign the tight labor market is slowly loosening.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, A seasonally adjusted 251,000 . increased to The Labor Department said Thursday that 244,000 in the week ending July 16, up from 244,000 a week earlier. Last week’s claims were above the 2019 pandemic weekly average of 218,000, when the labor market was also strong, and at their highest level since last November.