Jobless claims hit nearly 4-month high at start of 2018

• January 11, 2018
• realestatelife
• Announcements, Business & Markets, Real Estate, Real Estate Finance

Initial U.S. jobless claims, a tool to measure layoffs, climbed by 11,000 to a nearly four-month high of 261,000 in the seven days ended Jan. 6. That’s the highest level since mid-September and well above the 248,000 forecast of economists.

The more stable monthly average of claims increased by 9,000 to 250,750, the government said Thursday. That’s the highest level since early October.

The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, fell by 35,000 to 1.87 million.