WASHINGTON (AP) — In another grim sign for the U.S. labor market, jobless claim applications jumped to their highest level in almost four years last week, virtually assuring the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate next week.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Sept. 6 rose by 27,000 to 263,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most applications since the week of Oct. 23, 2021 and well above the 231,000 new applications economists forecast. It’s also the biggest week-to-week increase in almost a year.

Most analysts were already forecasting an interest rate cut after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled as much at a conference of central bankers three weeks ago. However, another report Thursday showing that consumer in

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