US Initial Jobless Claims Rise to Highest Level in Nearly a Year

Initial applications for US unemployment benefits jumped to the highest level in almost a year, adding to evidence that the labor market is slowing.

Initial claims increased by 14,000 to 249,000 in the week ended July 27, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 236,000 applications. Michigan and Missouri were among states with large gains.

Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving unemployment benefits, also rose to 1.88 million in the week ended July 20, the highest since November 2021. The claims data are prone ...