Is America’s labor market deteriorating? That’s the question on everyone’s mind on Thursday after the U.S. government reported the latest jobs numbers.
Initial jobless claims came in at 1.42 million in the week ending July 18, worse than the market forecast of 1.3 million, reports the Department of Labor. This was the first weekly increase since March, lifting the total number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits to 52.7 million.
Last week, initial jobless claims reached 1.3 million, higher than the median estimate of 1.25 million.
Continuing jobless claims hit 16.197 million. The four-week moving average, which eliminates week-to-week volatility, topped 1.36 million.
A blip on the radar or a part of a greater trend?
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