WASHINGTON (Fox News): The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose again last week, intensifying fears that a fresh round of business closures amid a resurgence in coronavirus cases is stalling — or reversing — the labor market’s early recovery.

The latest jobless claims figures from the Labor Department, which cover the week ended July 25, show that more than 1.43 million workers sought jobless aid last week, pushing the total number since the shutdown began to more than 54 million.

Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expected 1.45 million new claims.

It’s the 19th consecutive week that jobless claims came in above 1 million; before the pandemic, the record high was 695,000 set in 1982.