More Americans apply for jobless benefits, but layoffs are not rising significantly

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits rose last week. The Labor Department reports U.S. applications for jobless claims rose by 12,000 to 248,000 for the week ending July 1. The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 3,500 by 253,250. Jobless claim applications are seen as a proxy for the number of layoffs in a given week.