The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose for a third straight week last week, likely as some automakers closed assembly plants for the annual summer retooling, Reuters reported today. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 248,000 for the week ended July 1, the Labor Department said today. Data for the prior week was unrevised. It was the 122nd straight week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The labor market is near full employment, with the jobless rate at a 16-year low of 4.3 percent.
