Applications for US state unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose last week to the highest level since January, prompting a surge in filings in Kentucky and California.
Initial unemployment claims rose by 21,000 to 218,000 in the week ending May 14, Labor Department data said Thursday. The average estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 200,000 initial applications.
Continuous claims for state benefits fell to 1.32 million for the week ending May 7, the lowest since 1969.
While the claims are largely spreading water since hitting a 53-year low of more than 166,000 in March, the labor market is tightening rapidly and generating strong wage gains that could help boost overall inflation in the economy. helping.
There were a record 11.5 million job opportunities at the end of March. The claim is down from an all-time high of 6.137 million in early April 2020.
Last week’s figures covered the period during which the government surveyed employers for the non-farm payroll portion of its May employment report. Claims rose between the April and May survey periods. Wages increased by 428,000 in April, the 12th straight month that employment gained more than 400,000.
The figures for the ranks of the unemployed in mid-May next week will shed more light on the job growth situation this month.
Inflation may be the only thing comparable to the US job market. Last week, the government reported that US producer prices rose 11% in April from a year earlier, a huge gain that indicates higher inflation will continue to be a burden for consumers and businesses in the months ahead.
Earlier in May, the Federal Reserve stepped up its fight against the worst inflation in 40 years by raising its benchmark short-term interest rate by half a percentage point – its most aggressive move since 2000 – and anticipating major rate hikes to come. indicated. The Fed’s key rate hike raised it to a range of 0.75% to 1%, the highest point since the pandemic in March 2020.