Number Of Americans Filing For Jobless Benefits Highest In 8 Months

Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in eight months last week, though they remain historically low despite mounting uncertainty over how tariffs could affect the broader economy, Matt Ott reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The figures are the highest since early October. Analysts had forecast 237,000 new applications.

New applications for jobless benefits rose by 8,000 to 247,000 for the week ending May 31, the Labor Department said. That’s the highest since early October. Analysts had forecast 237,000 new applications.

Weekly jobless claims are considered a key indicator of layoffs in the U.S. and have generally hovered in a historically healthy range of 200,000 to 250,000 since the pandemic throttled the economy five years ago, wiping out millions of jobs.

In their latest earnings reports, many companies have either lowered their 2025 sales and profit expectations or declined to provide guidance altogether—often citing President Donald Trump’s unpredictable rollout of tariff announcements.

While Trump has paused or scaled back many of his tariff threats, concerns persist that a tariff-driven global economic slowdown could destabilize what has been a robust U.S. labor market.