Jobless Claims Rise

Another week and seemingly more bad news in the job market, as jobless claims are back on the rise. Claims for unemployment benefits were higher than Wall Street expected last week, at 238,000. That’s up from the previous week (234,000) and the projection (235,000). The increase is due to more layoffs, which were up 20% compared to the same month last year.

Furthermore, continuing claims of 1.86 million increased by 26,000 from the previous week, which also exceeded expectations (1.84 million). This is now the highest level since November of 2021.

Meanwhile, the Fed is still seeking concrete evidence that inflation is heading back towards their target of 2%, before deciding to cut interest rates. And, theoretically, more unemployment should actually cut down on inflation (less money to spend = lower demand and prices. If you still believe in that kind of thing).

Employment stats will be released tomorrow (Friday), but the labor market continues to cool. Economists predicted 190,000 added jobs for June, which would be a steep decline from the 272,000 jobs added in May. The unemployment rate is projected to be 4%.