US weekly jobless claims defy economists, climb back above 1 million as labor-market recovery slows

· New US jobless claims for the week that ended Saturday totaled 1.1 million, the Labor Department said Thursday. That came in well above the consensus economist estimate of 920,000.
· The surprise increase follows two consecutive weeks of declines, signaling a slowdown in the labor-market rebound.
· This week's report...