Jobless claims rose again after experiencing a steep decline last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.
For the week ending July 14, 386,000 Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits, which is 34,000 claims higher than the previous week’s revised figure of 352,000 filings.
The latest report contrasts with the previous outlook, which showed jobless claims falling by 26,000 filings due to auto factories staying open, rather than shutting their doors for summer.
Volatility in the auto sector is still impacting the jobs report this week, Econoday analysts suggested.
The research firm wrote, “Indicators that are weekly are often subject to high volatility and the most prominent weekly indicator on the calendar — jobless claims — is on a roller coaster right now due to the timing and related seasonal adjustments for summer retoolings and shutdowns centered in the auto sector.”
Unemployment trends generally indicate whether the economy is rebounding enough to give Americans the confidence to buy homes and consumer products. Real estate economists study jobless trends to determine how well consumers are faring and to gauge whether enough jobs are coming back to support a broader housing recovery.
