WASHINGTON — U.S. jobless claim applications jumped to their highest level in almost four years last week, the latest sign that the labor market is softening.

What You Need To Know • U.S. jobless claim applications jumped to their highest level in almost four years last week, the latest sign that the labor market is softening • The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Sept. 6 rose 27,000 to 263,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday • That's the most filings since the week of Oct. 23, 2021 and well above the 231,000 new applications economists forecast • Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and have mostly settled in a historically low range between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. began to emerge fr

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