Applications for jobless benefits up modestly, but continuing claims reach highest level in 2 years

Slightly more Americans filed for jobless claims last week, but the overall number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits rose to its highest level in two years. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits rose by 7,000 to 218,000 for the week ending Nov. 25. Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week. However, overall, 1.93 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Nov. 18, about 86,000 more than the previous week and the most in two years.