The number of people filing for unemployment for the first time was at its highest levels in more than a year, partly due to storm damage and lab🌌or stoppages.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending Oct. 5 came in at 258,000, up 33,000 from last week’s level of 225,000, and the highest since it hit the same level in August 2023, data from the Labor Department shows. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires expected a more modest increase of 5,000 jobs.

The data comes after last week’s surprising September jobs report, where employers added 104,000 more jobs than economists were expecting. The Federal Reserve cited weakening labor market numbers when it 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:cut interest rates in September more than some ecoꦑnomists expected, generating more focus on jobless numbers from investors. 

What's Next For Jobless Claims and The Fed?

Some🌌 of the increase in jobless claims could be associated with the recent impact of severe weather events, but not all of it, said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford E♌conomics. 

“Claims rose markedly in some of the states most impacted by Hurricane Helene and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the Boeing strike, although some unimpacted states saw large increases as well,” she said. “Claims will likely continue to be elevated in states affected by Helene, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Hurricane Milton and the Boeing (BA) strike until it’s resolved.”

Vanden Houten said she didn’t think the uptick would keep the Fed from making a quarter-point 🧜interest rate cut at its next meeting in November.