The number of jobless claims in the US suddenly “jumped” at the beginning of last week, the biggest weekly increase since the pandemic

The Zhitong Finance App learned that data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that after the number of jobless claims dropped sharply at the beginning of the Thanksgiving holiday week, the data surged last week, the biggest weekly increase since the outbreak of COVID-19.

In the week ending December 6, the number of initial jobless claims in the US increased by 44,000 to 236,000. This range reached a new peak since March 2020, and the previous week the data had just hit its lowest point in more than three years. This figure exceeded market expectations of 220,000.

According to information, the number of initial jobless claims usually fluctuates greatly around the holidays, and it is expected that this trend will continue until the end of the year. However, the data released this week is already in the high range since 2025. In recent weeks, companies such as Pepsi (PEP.US) and HPQ.US (HPQ.US) have announced layoff plans one after another. The scale of layoffs across the US in October hit a new high since the beginning of 2023.

As a key indicator of smoothing short-term fluctuations, the four-week moving average of jobless claims rose slightly to 2167,500 at the beginning of last week; as of November 30 (including the Thanksgiving holiday), the number of renewed jobless claims for the week ended November 30 (including the Thanksgiving holiday) was 1.838 million, and the market expected 1,947,000.

Weak expectations in the labor market have continued to weigh on consumer confidence in recent months. According to the preliminary survey results of the University of Michigan in December, most respondents expect the US unemployment rate to rise in the next year.

Federal Reserve officials announced interest rate cuts for the third time in a row during the interest rate meeting held on Wednesday to support the “gradual cooling” of the labor market, as stated by Federal Reserve Chairman Powell. Although the Federal Reserve did not raise the forecast for next year's unemployment rate compared to September's economic expectations, Powell said bluntly that the job market is currently facing a “significant” downside risk.