The U.S. initial jobless claims saw the largest three-month increase in three months, while continued claims rose to a high for 2021.

BlockBeats News, August 21. Last week in the US, initial jobless claims recorded the largest increase in nearly three months, indicating a rising trend in layoffs, further exacerbating signs of labor market weakness. The Labor Department said on Thursday that for the week ending August 16, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims increased by 11,000 to 235,000, marking the largest jump since late May. With businesses grappling with Trump's protectionist trade policies, the labor market has been characterized by "low layoffs, weak hiring."

Earlier this month, the government reported that over the past three months, employment has been increasing by an average of 35,000 jobs per month. The second-quarter domestic demand growth rate has slowed to the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2022. The report shows that for the week ending August 9, continuing jobless claims rose by 30,000 to 1.972 million, reaching the highest level since November 2021. (FX678)