U.S. jobless claims rise modestly

According to Mars Finance, the number of initial unemployment claims in the United States increased slightly last week, suggesting that layoffs remain low even as the labor market slows. The U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that initial unemployment claims in the United States increased slightly by 2,000 to 230,000 in the week ending September 7. However, the data survey period last week included the Labor Day holiday in the United States. Initial unemployment claims tend to fluctuate around public holidays. In addition, the number of people continuing to apply for unemployment benefits in the United States for the week ending August 31 was 1.85 million, a slight increase of 5,000. After surging in July to levels not seen since the end of 2021, continuing unemployment claims have mostly been on a downward trend in August. The decline is consistent with the decline in the unemployment rate last month.