US Jobless Claims Rise To Highest Levels Since June

Weekly jobless claims rose to the highest levels since June, surpassing Wall Street estimates and pointing to weakness in the labor market amid President Donald Trump's ongoing tariff war.

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday, jobless claims rose by 8,000 to 237,000 in the week ended August 30. This was higher than an estimate of 230,000, according to Bloomberg.

The four-week moving average for jobless claims, which smooths weekly volatility, rose by 2,500 to 231,000.

Continuing claims, which refer to the number of people claiming unemployment benefits beyond the first week, hovered in the 1.94 million range, declining marginally by 4,000 over the previous week.

The largest increase in claims occurred in New York, at 1,430, followed by Texas, at 1,230. In contrast, the largest decrease in claims was reported in Iowa, at 1,235, and Virginia, at 857.

According to ADP Research data released on Thursday, hiring at U.S. firms slowed down in August. Private sector payrolls increased by 54,000 during the month, nearly halving from July's 106,000 additions.“The year started with strong job growth, but that momentum has been whipsawed by uncertainty,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities edged up in Thursday's pre-market trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S & P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S & P 500 index, was up 0.12%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.13%. Retail sentiment around the S & P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the 'bullish' territory.

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