Ibby

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits increased last week, according to an article by CNN Money. This unfortunately indicates that there will be continued trouble for the U.S. labor market.

According to a report by the Labor Department, 386,000 people filed new jobless claims during the week of June 9, which is up 6,000 from the previous week’s figures.

These numbers have a direct correlation with the total number of layoffs in the nation, which is why economists believe them to be an important gauge of the overall health of the job market.

Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo, said the disappointing numbers that were released last week are a sign that economic growth may slow in the second half of this year.

“There is really no getting away from the point that things are slowing, the economy is slowing,” Vitner said.