 Hurricane Beryl impacted employment in Texas. The number of new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 20,000 last week to 243,000. The increase was driven by a spike in jobless claims in Texas after Beryl made landfall on July 8th. Though the number of new claims rose in 40 of the 53 states and territories that report to the federal government, and there were more people remaining on benefits. Continuing claims rose to 1.86 million.