The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment report on Thursday. It showed about 249,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on July 27th. Here is the official Labor Department statement:

In the week endingJuly 27,the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 249,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 235,000. The 4-week moving average was 238,000, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 235,500.