The data from
the Labour Department revealed on
Thursday that the number of applications for unemployment increased much more
than anticipated last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits climbed by 33,000 to 258,000 for the week ended October 5. This marked the highest weekly total since
the week that ended August 5, 2023 (258,000).
Economists had predicted
230,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the
prior week were left unrevised at 225,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims increased to 231,000 from an unrevised 224,250 in the previous
week. This represented the highest count in four
weeks.
As for continuing claims, they jumped to 1,861,000 from a downwardly revised 1,819,000 (from 1,826,000) in the previous
week. This was the highest reading since late July.