Latest Jobless Claims Reverse Downward Trend

The Labor Department released new data today on initial unemployment claims by laid-off workers. For the week ending July 18, new claims increased 109,000 to 1.4 million, reversing the downward trend from the peak of 6.9 million in late March. Continuing claims for the week ending July 11 totaled 16.2 million, down 1.1 million from the prior week.