The U.S. initial jobless claims saw the largest three-month increase in three months, while continued claims rose to a high for 2021.

August 21st. In the US last week, initial jobless claims witnessed the largest rise in nearly three months, suggesting a rising trend in layoffs and further intensifying signs of labor market weakness. The Labor Department stated on Thursday that for the week ending August 16th, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims increased by 11,000 to 235,000, marking the largest jump since late May. As businesses were dealing with Trump's protectionist trade policies, the labor market was characterized by "low layoffs and weak hiring." Earlier this month, the government reported that over the past three months, employment had been increasing by an average of 35,000 jobs per month. The second-quarter domestic demand growth rate had slowed down to the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2022. The report showed that for the week ending August 9th, continuing jobless claims rose by 30,000 to 1.972 million, reaching the highest level since November 2021. (FX678)