WASHINGTON, July 18 Reuters The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but there has been no material shift in the labor market and the data is typically noisy in July because of summer breaks and temporary factory closures.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 243,000 for the week ended July 13, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims for the latest week.

Claims dropped in the prior week, pulling further away from a 10month high touched in early June.

Some of that decline was attributed to difficulties adjusting the data around holidays, like the U.S. Independence Day. In addition, auto makers typically shut down assembly plants starting the July 4 week to retool for new models.

But the shutdown schedules are different for every manufacturer, which can throw off the model that the government uses to smooth out the data for seasonal fluctuations. Claims rose in July last year through the first half of August, before fully reversing course by early September.

Disregarding the volatility, the labor market is cooling as the Federal Reserve39;s interest rate increases in 2022 and 2023 slow demand. The unemployment rate rose to a 212year high of 4.1 in June.

The Fed39;s Beige Book report on Wednesday showed employment rose at a slight pace in early July, but noted a decline in manufacturing…