Initial jobless claims in the United States last week rose to 244,000, an increase that’s been predicted might of possible as people continue to file for unemployment.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased, by 9,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 235,000.
The four-week moving average for initial jobless claims increased to 235,750.
Jobless claims have been trending up since March amid surging inflation and rising interest rates. Jobless claims totaled 166,000 in the week ending March 19, the lowest in decades, Xinhua news agency reported.
In the week of March 14th, 2020, jobless claims totalled 221 thousand. The following week, the number of jobless claims skyrocketed to almost three million.
According to the latest unemployment report, the number of people receiving regular state work benefits dropped 41,000 in week ending July 2.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programmes — state and federal combined — for the week ending June 25, 2017, increased by 72,504 to 1.4 million.
“Signals from the US economy indicate that things are not going well,” wrote economists at Wells Fargo Securities, according to an analysis.
The weaker real spending suggests the staying power of U.S. consumers is fading, homebuilding activity is being pushed down by higher interest rates, and business investment is declining amid growing recession fears.
See also:
1 Comment