US weekly jobless claims rise to 262,000, highest since Nov 2021

Initial jobless claims in the US last week rose to 262,000, hitting a new high since November 2021, the US Labour Department reported

jobless claims
(Photo: Bloomberg)
IANS Washington
2 min read Last Updated : Aug 12 2022 | 2:00 PM IST

Initial jobless claims in the US last week rose to 262,000, hitting a new high since November 2021, the US Labour Department reported.

In the week ending August 6, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased by 14,000 from the previous week's downwardly revised level of 248,000, according to a report released on Thursday by the Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS).

The four-week moving average for initial jobless claims, a method to iron out data volatility, increased by 4,500 to 252,000, the report showed, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

Jobless claims totaled 166,000 in the week ending March 19, the lowest in decades.

In recent months, the figures have been trending up amid surging inflation and rising interest rates.

The latest figure of 262,000 is well above the 2019 weekly average of 218,000, which is the pre-pandemic level.

In the week ending March 14, 2020, jobless claims totaled 221,000, but in the following week, the figure skyrocketed to 2.9 million.

The latest report also showed that the number of people continuing to collect regular state unemployment benefits, which was reported with a one-week lag, increased by 8,000 to 1.4 million during the week ending July 30.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programmes -- state and federal combined -- for the week ending July 23 also increased by 9,206 to 1.48 million.

The Department reported last week that employers added 528,000 jobs in July despite recession fears, with the unemployment rate edging down to the pre-pandemic level of 3.5 percent, signaling a still robust labour market.

--IANS

ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Quarterly Starter

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

Save 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online

  • Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

Topics :US jobless claimsUS joblessUS job marketUS economyUnited States

First Published: Aug 12 2022 | 1:55 PM IST

Next Story