US jobless claims stabilise near highest levels this year

Applications for US unemployment benefits ticked down last week, stabilising near the highest levels in eight months. Initial claims decreased by 5,000 to 245,000 in the week ended June 14, in line with the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists.Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, also fell slightly, to 1.95 million, in the previous week, according to Labour Department data released Wednesday (June 18).
Data tends to be volatile, especially around holidays or when schools are on summer vacation. Overall, jobless claims have risen in the past two months, reflecting a gradual slowdown in the labour market.
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The four-week moving average of new applications, a metric that helps smooth out volatility, rose to 245,500, the highest since August 2023. Before adjusting for seasonal factors, initial claims fell last week. Illinois, California and Georgia saw the largest declines.

Data this week pointed to a cooldown in demand across sectors of the economy. A separate report on Wednesday showed that new US residential construction declined in May to the slowest pace since the onset of the pandemic.

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Hiring has moderated, and recurring claims are hovering near the highest since the end of 2021, indicating that it is taking longer for unemployed people to find a new job.