Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 3 increased 28,000 to 261,000 (consensus 237,000) while continuing jobless claims for the week ending May 27 decreased 37,000 to 1.757 million.
Initial claims, which are a leading indicator, hit their highest level since November 2021.
The key takeaway from the report is the bump seen in initial claims as it connotes some softening in the labor market that the Fed will like to see, although claims levels continue to run well below levels seen in past recessions (i.e., north of 375,000), which is a point that market participants should be relatively pleased to know.