The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 225,000 for the week of Sept. 28. It was more than the 221,000 analysts were expecting.
Applications for jobless benefits are widely considered representative of U.S. layoffs in a given week.
Recent labor market data has signaled that high interest rates may finally be taking a toll on the labor market.
During the first four months of 2024, applications for jobless benefits averaged just 213,000 a week before rising in May. They hit 250,000 in late July, supporting the notion that high interest rates were finally cooling a red-hot U.S. job market.
Last month, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March this year than were originally reported. The revised total was also considered evidence that the job market has been slowing steadily.
