A hiring ad displayed at a coffee shop in Kerrville, Texas, on July 9, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
The number of workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose for the second straight week as a fresh data point to a cooling U.S. labor market.
According to the Department of Labor, initial jobless claims increased by 7,000 to 226,000 for the week ending on Aug. 2, from the previous week’s upwardly adjusted 219,000.
