THE ECONOMY

U.S. Jobless Claims Rise: The number of new claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week, the fifth advance in seven weeks. “Labor market conditions remain soft,” Merrill Lynch economist Bruce Steinberg said after the Commerce Department reported that 1,000 more newly laid-off Americans had applied for unemployment insurance. The report said first-time claims for unemployment totaled a seasonally adjusted 365,000, the highest since 372,000 claims were filed during the week ended July 22. Many analysts had expected a drop of about 10,000. As the economy slowed from its robust growth late last year, job creation also weakened.