Continuing Unemployment Benefit Claims Reach 1.919 Million, Exceeding Expectations
Last week, the number of new unemployment benefit claims in the United States increased compared to the previous week, surpassing market expectations.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor on May 29 (local time), the number of new unemployment benefit claims for the week of May 18 to 24 was 240,000. This represents an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's 226,000, and also exceeds the forecast of 229,000.
The number of continuing unemployment benefit claims, which counts those claiming benefits for at least two consecutive weeks, was tallied at 1,919,000 for the week of May 11 to 17. This figure is higher than both the revised number for the previous week (1,893,000) and the market expectation (1,890,000).
Wall Street is closely monitoring employment, inflation, and growth indicators to assess the impact of President Donald Trump's tariff policies and federal government workforce and cost reductions on the economy. According to the minutes of the May Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting released the previous day by the Federal Reserve, the committee members assessed that "the labor market is generally balanced," but also projected that "there is a risk the labor market could weaken in the coming months."
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