James Myers of OAN
8:40am – Thursday, May 9, 2024
Applications for unemployment benefits have reached the highest level since August 2023, according to initial filings.
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New jobless claims rose by 22,000 to a staggering 231,000 in the week ending May 4.thLabor Department data released Thursday showed the number of applications was well above the 212,000 that economists expected.
The four-week moving average, which helps dispel any exaggerated numbers, increased by 4,750 cases from the previous week to 215,000 cases, the highest since February.
Before this week, the number of first-time applications over the past three months had been below the 200,000 to 222,000 range, according to . bloomberg.
Latest data shows layoffs nationwide are rising as well.
The latest report comes after a weaker-than-expected April jobs report, with just 175,000 new jobs in April, well below analysts’ expectations of 240,000. .
But a month earlier, in March, we recorded an astonishing increase of 303,000 new positions, while February ended with 270,000.
Since the beginning of this month, large-scale layoffs have been occurring across the United States at large companies such as Peloton and Allen Media.
Additionally, unemployment claims rose to 1.79 million in the week ending April 27, the highest increase in a month.th.
As inflation continues to rise, Wall Street has reversed its expectations for three 25 basis point interest rate cuts starting in June.
Wall Street only expected two 25 basis point rate cuts in early September.
“We would need to see at least a month of rising readings before we can be confident that the trend has truly changed,” Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Economics said Thursday.
However, he foretold: “In the lead-up to the 1990-91 and 2001 recessions, employment growth slowed from 150,000 to 200,000 to almost zero in just four months. The latest data looks fine. As such, the warning signs were dismissed, but suddenly the situation has changed. It is too early to be certain that the same story is about to unfold now, but the risks are greater than at any previous point in this cycle. It’s expensive and we’re nervous.”
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