2025.09.1112:34:28UTC+00Initial Jobless Claims Surge to Near 4-Year High

In the first week of September, the initial jobless claims in the United States increased significantly by 27,000 from the previous week, reaching a total of 263,000. This figure marks the highest level since October 2021 and surpasses the market's expectation of 235,000. This uptick in claims is consistent with a wave of negative labor market reports that have emerged since the beginning of the month, further highlighting a weakening employment scenario in the US. The four-week moving average, which helps smooth out the volatility from week to week, rose by 9,750 to 240,500. This represents the sharpest weekly increase since December 2020 and is the highest level seen since June. Concurrently, the number of ongoing unemployment claims stood at 1,932,000 in the last week of August. Although lower than the anticipated 1,950,000, it remains above the average figures recorded since 2021.