The number of people already collecting jobless benefits in the week ended Sept. 28 rose by 42,000 to 1.86 million.
The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits surged by 33,000 to 258,000 in the week ended October 5, the Labor Department said Thursday. This is the highest level of initial claims since early August 2023.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would rise only by 5,000 to 230,000.
Key details: The four-week moving average of claims rose by 6,750 to 231,000.
The number of people already collecting jobless benefits in the week ended Sept. 28 rose by 42,000 to 1.86 million.
On an unadjusted basis, claims were up 53,570 to 234,780. This is the first time that unadjusted claims were above 200,000 in nine weeks.
Big picture: Some of the increase in initial claims could be from the effects of Hurricane Helene, given gains in not seasonally adjusted unemployment claims in Florida and North Carolina. Economists expect the full impact of the storm to be spread over several weeks.
But there were also big gains in claims in Michigan, Ohio and California.
The strong job report for September eased fears that the labor market might weaken dramatically in the near term.
However, Federal Reserve officials still cite a weaker-than-expected labor market as one of the biggest risks facing the economy.
Looking ahead: “Slowing, growing… whatever you want to call what the economy is doing, it clearly is not in any meltdown. Present levels of initial claims are extremely low by historical standards—they have not been near these levels since the 1960s—and they are lower by several quanta than what the economy has experienced in recent recessions,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics.
