By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, in a potential sign of cooling in America's red-hot labor market, according to data from the Labor Department.
Seasonally-adjusted new applications for unemployment insurance in the U.S. totaled 235,000 for the week ending on July 2, up from the unrevised total of 231,000 in the prior week. Economists had earlier anticipated the figure to slip to 230,000.
The four-week moving average, which accounts for weekly fluctuations in the data, also edged up slightly to 232,500.
The latest jobless claims add yet another detail to the emerging picture of the current U.S. labor market, which has remained tight recently despite concerns that aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes may lead to a rise in unemployment.
Earlier this week, job openings, as measured by its monthly survey, fell in May to 11.254 million. That reading was still high by historical comparison, but came as a signal of a possible loosening in the labor market.
The next big data point will come out on Friday, when the Labor Department will unveil the latest version of its closely-watched nonfarm payrolls report. Analysts are expecting that the economy added 268,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate is also seen holding steady at 3.6%.