US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims jump to 264K

The weekly data published by the US Department of Labour (DOL) on Thursday showed that initial jobless claims totaled 264,000 in the week ending May 6. The figure comes in above market expectations of 245,000 and follows the previous week’s unrevised figure of 242,000. The reading was the highest since October 2021.

“The 4-week moving average was 245,250, up 6,000 from the unrevised average of 239,250 the previous week.” This is the highest level for this average since November 20, 2021 when it was 249,250.”

Continuing Claims climbed by 12,000 in the week ending April 29 to 1.813 million, falling short of the market estimate of 1.82 million. It is at its lowest point in three weeks.