Washington, DC, August 3, 2006--The Labor Department said claims for unemployment benefits rose by 14,000 to 315,000 in the week ending July 29.
The four-week average of new claims was nearly flat at 313,750.
The number of workers collecting jobless benefits rose by 11,000 to 2.48 million in the week ending July 22.
The four-week average of continuing jobless claims rose by 8,000 to 2.47 million, the most since March. The insured unemployment rate remained at 1.9%.
