Economic Buzz: US weekly unemployment claims climb to 240,000

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended May 24th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 240,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 226,000.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 230,750, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 231,000.

The report also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, rose by 26,000 to 1.919 million in the week ended May 17th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims crept up to 1,890,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 1,887,500.

With the uptick, the four-week moving average of continuing claims reached its highest level since November 2021.

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