U.S. applications for jobless benefits jumped to their highest level in two months, but layoffs remain in a historically healthy range.
Jobless claim applications jumped by 18,000 to 241,000 for the week ending April 26, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s more than the 225,000 new applications analysts forecast and the most since late February.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, and have mostly stayed in a healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years.
The four-week average of applications, which softens some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 5,500 to 226,000.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of April 19 climbed to 1.92 million, the most since November of 2021.
