Weekly US jobless claims register first rise since March
Initial jobless claims in the US rose modestly and somewhat unexpectedly during the previous week, marking the first increase since March.
According to the Department of Labor, initial claims for the week ending on 18 July rose by 109,000 to reach 1.416m.
Economists had forecast a dip to 1.28m although many had been wary that it might only be a matter of time before the reimposition of lockdown measures led to renewed increases.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of initial claims, which aims to smooth out the variations in the data from one week to the next, retreated by 16,500 to 1,360,250.
Secondary unemployment claims however, which provide a rough indication of rehiring, fell by 1.107m to 16.197m over the week ending on 11 July.