U.S. jobless benefits claims inched up modestly last week, according to the Associated Press, as businesses hold onto staff despite worries about the American economy and trade policy.
Applications for unemployment aid for the week ending July 26 were up 1,000 to 218,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s less than the 225,000 new applications analysts had forecast.
Unemployment benefits claims are largely regarded as a proxy for layoffs.
Last week marked the first time in seven weeks that benefits applications rose. Still, layoffs remain at historically low levels.
The four-week average of the claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, dropped by 3,500 to 221,000.
The total number of Americans collecting benefits for the previous week of July 19 was unchanged at 1.95 million.
