Jobless Claims Reach Eight-Month High As Weekly Unemployment Numbers Top 250,000 – By Nicholas Morgan (International Business Times) / July 21, 2022
Initial unemployment claims in the U.S. surged to a eight-month high in a sign that the labor market may be slowing down, adding to concerns that the economy may be heading toward a recession.
On Thursday, the Labor Department released its weekly initial unemployment claims and found that total claims reached 251,000 for the week ending on July 16, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week.
The numbers beat outside estimates, including the Dow Jones, which expected about 240,000 total claims. This figure is the highest recorded since Nov. 13, 2021, when jobless claims reached 268,000.
The numbers remain significantly below pandemic-era levels and they are not believed by economists to be a significant threat to the job market or the wider economy. They also fall short of recessionary indicators.
