Initial jobless claims unexpectedly climbed.
Claims, which count the number of people who applied for unemployment insurance for the first time in the past week, rose by 15,000 to 258,000.
This was the first print above 250,000 in eight weeks, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
Economists had forecasted that claims ticked down to 240,000. The prior week’s reading was revised up to 243,000.
Additionally, the four-week moving average was 240,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised average.
Initial jobless claims are used as a real-time proxy for the pace of layoffs and the overall health of the labor market since people usually file for benefits soon after they lose their jobs.