U.S. Jobless Claims Rise More Than Expected To 235,000
(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by much more than expected in the week ended August 16th, according to a repot released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 235,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 224,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 225,000.
"The latest rise in initial jobless claims hints at some new softening in labor market conditions, but we can't infer anything conclusive from one week's data, particularly in a week when seasonal factors lent an upside bias to the headline figure," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged up to 226,250, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 221,750.
Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, climbed by 30,000 to 1.972 million in the week ended August 9th.
With the increase, continuing claims reached their highest level since hitting 2.041 million in the week ended November 6, 2021.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose to 1,954,500, an increase of 6,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,948,000.
"Although they bounce around week to week, we think continued claims have probably leveled off," said Vanden Houten. "However, they remain elevated and consistent with a slow pace of job creation."
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