Jobless claims increased by 14,000 to 266,000 in the week ended July 23, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. The jobless rate edged up to 4.9 percent from 4.7 percent as more people entered the labor market. For the first six months, industry-wide light-vehicle sales rose just 1.5 percent while incentives jumped 13 percent, according to researcher Autodata. Hiring managers are reluctant to pare staff as the labor market tightens and demand continues to expand in the face of subdued global growth prospects. The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 7,000 to 2.14 million in the week ended July 16.

Source: Washington Post July 28, 2016 22:07 UTC