Sept. 14 (UPI) — The number of people filing for initial unemployment benefits increased for the first time in a month last week, jumping by 3,000 to 220,000, according to new statistics released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The survey of those filing for unemployment insurance for the first time, a gauge used to judge the stability of the U.S. workforce and economy, said a seasonally adjusted total for the week ending Sept. 9 jumped from a revised total of 217,000. That total was announced at 216,000 last week.
The Labor Department had not seen an increase in first-time unemployment filing since initial claims rose to 250,000 on Aug. 5, one of the highest totals for weekly filings in 2023. Initial claims jumped a seasonally adjusted 23,000 in that week. First-time filings had been falling for the past month.
The four-week moving average for first-time unemployment insurance claims dropped to 224,500, a decrease of 5,000 of 229,500.
The number of overall people filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Sept. 2 was 1,688,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week. The previous week’s total was revised up 5,000 to 1,684,000.
The four-week moving average of everyone applying for unemployment insurance was 1,697,000, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week.
