US Jobless Claims Rise To Highest Levels In Nearly 4 Years

Weekly jobless claims rose to the highest levels in almost four years, according to the Labor Department, surpassing Wall Street estimates and pointing to weakness in the labor market.

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday, jobless claims rose by 27,000 to 263,000 in the week ended September 6. This was higher than an estimated 235,000, according to Dow Jones estimates, data from MarketWatch showed.

The four-week moving average for jobless claims, which smooths weekly volatility, rose by 9,750 to 240,500.

Continuing claims, which refer to the number of people claiming unemployment benefits beyond the first week, hovered in the 1.94 million range.

The largest increase in claims came from Tennessee at 2,870, followed by Connecticut at 2,270, whereas the largest decrease in claims was from Kentucky at 2,833 and Pennsylvania at 504.

The jobless claims surprise comes days ahead of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, where the central bank is widely expected to announce an interest rate cut by 25 basis points.

Data from CME Group’s Fedwatch tool indicates a 90.8% probability that the Fed will maintain interest rates at the current 4.25% to 4.5% range.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities edged up in Thursday’s opening trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.29%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.23%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

Also See: CPI Report: Consumer Prices Rise 2.9% Annually In August, In Line With Expectations

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