The number of Americans newly filing applications for unemployment benefits climbed to the highest level in four years last week, new Department of Labor data released on Sept. 11 show.
For the week ending Sept. 6, initial jobless claims rose by 27,000 to 263,000—marking the highest level since October 2021 and surpassing the consensus estimate of 235,000.
The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly noise, also increased to 240,500 from 230,750.
A program for federal employees filing jobless claims rose by 12, to 527. Economists have been closely monitoring this data metric to assess the impact of the current administration’s policies on federal payrolls.
Recurring jobless claims—the number of out-of-work individuals currently receiving unemployment benefits—was unchanged at a smaller-than-expected 1.93 million….