The data from
the Labour Department reported on
Thursday the number of applications for unemployment unexpectedly climbed last week.
According to
the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits surged by 13,000 to 242,000
for the week ended June 8. This represented
the highest weekly total since the week ended August 12, 2023 (248,000).
Economists had forecast
225,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the
prior week were left unrevised at 229,000.
Meanwhile, the
four-week moving average of jobless claims increased to 227,000 compared
to an unrevised 222,250 in the previous
week. This was the highest count since
the week ended September 9, 2023 (232.500).
As for continuing claims, they jumped to 1,820,000 compared to a downwardly revised 1,790,000 (from 1,792,000) in the previous week.
This was the highest reading since early April. This
marked the highest reading since the week ended January 20 (1,830,000).