08/08/2025

U.S. Jobless Claims Climb

Meanwhile, productivity improved in Q2 2025

he number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits ticked up to the highest level in a month last week, suggesting the labor market was largely stable even though job creation is weakening and it is taking laid-off workers longer to find new jobs.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits for the week ended August 2 rose 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 226,000, the highest level since the week ended July 5, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 221,000 claims for the latest week.

The labor market has slowed, with government data last week showing far fewer jobs were created in July than economists had expected as uncertainty over President Donald Trump's tariffs left businesses wary of adding workers. Moreover, employment gains in the previous two months were revised lower by nearly 260,000, a stunning reversal that prompted Trump to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics - a move that rattled investors and economists already anxious about the eroding quality of official U.S. economic data.

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