Weekly Jobless Claims Jump to 219,000, Breaking a Downtrend the Fed Was Watching
Initial unemployment claims rose 17,000 to 219,000 for the week ending April 4, above the 210,000 estimate and reversing the decline to 202,000 the prior week. The data arrives two days after FOMC minutes showed officials worried about labor market softening from the Iran conflict.
Initial unemployment insurance claims rose to 219,000 for the week ending April 4, the Department of Labor reported Thursday morning. The increase of 17,000 from the prior week's 202,000 -- and above the consensus estimate of 210,000 -- breaks a declining trend that had brought claims to their lowest level in months.
Continuing claims, which measure ongoing unemployment, fell to 1,794,000, below the 1,840,000 estimate.
Key Numbers
| Metric | This Week | Prior Week | Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial claims (SA) | 219,000 | 202,000 | 210,000 |
| Change | +17,000 | ||
| Continuing claims | 1,794,000 | -- | 1,840,000 |
The Recent Trend
| Week Ending |
|---|
Sources