Initial filings for unemployment benefits hit their highest level since late August 2023 in a potential sign that an otherwise robust labor market is changing.
Also, job openings have been declining amid expectations that the labor market is likely to slow through the year.
The four-week moving average of claims, which helps smooth out weekly volatility in numbers, increased to 215,000, up 4,750 from the previous week.
"One week does not a trend make, but we can no longer be sure that calm seas lie ahead for the US economy if today's weekly jobless claims are any indication."
Markets reacted little to the jobless claims release, with stock market futures slightly negative and Treasury yields mixed.
Persons:
Dow Jones, Christopher Rupkey, Robert Frick
Organizations:
Labor Department, Navy Federal Credit Union
Locations:
New York