Applications for Unemployment Aid Increase to Highest Level in Two Months

Yep. Here’s our weekly jobless claims a day report:

Applications for jobless benefits rose by 16,000 for the week ending July 6, bringing the total to 360,000, up from last week’s revised figure of 344,000, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.

Thursday's report marks a two-month high.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, rose by 6,000, bringing the total to 351,750, up from the previous average of 345,750.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending June 29, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 29 was 2,977,000, an increase of 24,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,953,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,970,750, a decrease of 3,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,974,250,” the report adds.

The Associated Press reacted to the news with its usual rosy optimism:

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/AP/status/355303693064740865"]

Meanwhile, MarketWatch, a more serious economic news outlet, reminded its readers of an important caveat:

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/MarketWatch/status/355303988461174785"]

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending June 29 were New Jersey (+6,068), New York (+2,824), Connecticut (+2,802), Michigan (+1,814), and Washington (+1,573).

Meanwhile, California (-9,323), Florida (-3,245), Pennsylvania (-2,628), Massachusetts (-1,973), and Maryland (-1,715) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

Markets are opening higher, but that's mostly because Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled he'd continue the Fed's easing policies:

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Featured image Getty Images. This post has been updated.