Initial Jobless Claims rose by 3,000 in the latest week, with 219,000 people filing new unemployment claims. There were also 1.791 million people still receiving benefits after filing their initial claim, as Continuing Claims increased by 4,000.
What’s the bottom line? With the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) report showing that the pace of hiring has slowed over the past year, it will be important to see if an uptick in unemployment claims continues. As noted above, Fed members are closely watching for signs of labor sector softening as they weigh the timing for rate cuts this year.