The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week and more people continued to collect unemployment checks at the end of November relative to the beginning of the year as demand for labor cools.

(Bloomberg) -- Applications for US unemployment benefits rose to a two-month high last week, at a time around the end-of-year holidays when data is volatile. Initial claims increased by 17,000 to 242,000 in the week ended Dec. 7. The median forecast in a ...