 This is a Bloomberg Money Minute. In a sign the labor market is softening, initial applications for unemployment benefits rose last week by 20,000, the most since early May. Claims at 243,000 came in higher than the forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey. Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving unemployment benefits also rose by 20,000 to nearly 1.9 million, suggesting unemployed people are struggling to find a new job.