The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment report on Thursday. It showed that about 248,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on July 1st. Here is the official Labor Department statement:
In the week ending July 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 248,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 3,000 from 239,000 to 236,000. The 4-week moving average was 253,250, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 750 from 257,500 to 256,750.