First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by much more than expected in the week ended May 4th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 231,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week's revised level of 209,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 210,000 from the 208,000 originally reported for the previous week.
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June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.