ECONOMIC REPORT The numbers: Some 260,000 people applied for unemployment benefits at the end of July, keeping jobless claims near a nine-month high and signaling a softening in the U.S. labor market as the economy slows. initial jobless claims increased by 6,000 from a revised 254,000 in the prior week. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal forecast initial jobless claims to total 260,000 in the seven days ended July 30.