WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With the more closely watched monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended May 31st.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 247,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 239,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 235,000 from the 240,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unexpected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 259,000 in the week ended October 5, 2024.
'Jobless claims continue to rise, but they are rising at a slow pace, so it's a trend worth watching, but too soon to sound the alarm,' said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also rose to 235,000, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 230,500.
Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, edged down by 3,000 to 1.904 million in the week ended May 24th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims still rose by 8,000 to 1,895,250, reaching the highest level since November 2021.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in the month of May.
Economists currently expect employment to increase by 130,000 jobs in May after jumping by 177,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.2 percent.
'Tomorrow's jobs report will be especially important because it will provide an updated view into the labor market - and that's what we believe the Fed is watching most closely at this point (at least versus inflation),' said Zaccarelli.
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