Initial Claims At Highest Since Oct 2021 As Texas Jobless Count Soars

After the prior week’s surprise surge in initial jobless claims (to the highest since Oct 2021), last week was expected to see a modest slowdown from 261k to 245k. However, things remain troublesome with 262k Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time last week (the same as an upwardly revised 262k the week before)…

Source: Bloomberg

Texas was the major outlier for the rise in jobless claims

But with initial claims hovering at their highest since October 2021, continuing claims is refusing to follow trend, rising only modestly from 1.755mm to 1.775mm…

Source: Bloomberg

But is it about to turn up?