Unemployment claims on the upswing in Mass.

BOSTON -- The number of first-time unemployment aid claims crept up last week in both Massachusetts and nationwide compared to the prior week, hinting at ongoing volatility in the job market and continuing economic uncertainty more than four months into the pandemic.

State labor officials reported receiving 19,179 new filings for jobless benefits between July 19 and July 25, an increase of 1,025 over the previous week.

While the weekly sum was one of the lowest since the start of the crisis, it also marked only the second time since April in which total weekly applications were greater than the week before.

Applications for the expanded eligibility Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program also increased from 12,402 in the week that ended July 18 to 14,850 in the week that ended July 25.

The slight uptick in Massachusetts residents seeking unemployment aid comes with the state well into its third phase of a phased plan to revive business activity after months of forced shutdowns.

While many establishments have reopened to some degree, the lingering damage is profound. Massachusetts had the highest unemployment rate in the nation in June at 17.4 percent, and additional cuts to the public sector could be on the horizon if the federal government does not provide aid to close massive state and local budget gaps.

Federal figures showed a similar trend of rising unemployment applications. Americans filed 1.43 million initial claims for standard unemployment insurance last week, compared to 1.42 million one week earlier and 1.3 million two weeks earlier.