The number of Americans filing for jobless claims hits highest level in a year

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to its highest level in a year last week, even as the labor market remains surprisingly healthy in an era of high interest rates.

Jobless claims for the week ending July 27 climbed by 14,000 to 249,000, from 235,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It’s the most since the first week of August last year and the 10th straight week that claims have come in above 220,000. Before that stretch, claims had remained below that level in all but three weeks this year.

Weekly unemployment claims are widely considered as representative of layoffs, and though they have been slightly higher the past couple of months, they remain at historically healthy levels.

Strong consumer demand and a resilient labor market has helped to avert a recession that many economists forecast during the extended flurry of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve that began in March of 2022.