JungleFortune| The jump in U.S. initial jobless claims last week coincided with a New York City public school holiday

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits for the first time last week rose to the highest level since August.JungleFortuneIt coincides with the holiday of New York City public schools.

According to data released by the Department of Labor on Thursday,JungleFortuneIn the week ended May 4, the number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits increased by 2. 5%.JungleFortune.2000, to 23.JungleFortune.10,000. The median forecast of the economists surveyed was 212000.

Workers at New York City public schools, such as bus drivers, can apply for relief during winter and spring break, which tends to push up the number of weekly applicants.

Previously, the number of first-time jobless claims has remained within a narrow range of 200000 to 222000 over the past three months.

First-time jobless claims rose by nearly 20, 000 to 209324 before seasonally adjusted. The increase is the biggest so far this year, with more than half of the increase coming from New York. Applications also increased in California, Indiana and Illinois.

New York City public schools have spring break from April 22 to 30, and school staff can apply for benefits during winter and spring break, which may have contributed to a significant increase in the number of applicants in the state.

Although the overall growth "exceeded my expectations, the weekly increase is fully predictable, as we often see this increase after school holidays in New York City," Stephen Stanley, chief US economist at Santander US Capital Markets LLC, said in a report. "I cannot guarantee that the seasonally adjusted figure will suddenly return to 210000 next week, but I am confident that it will decline significantly."

Companies are reluctant to fire employees because of resilient demand, but the latest monthly employment report shows a slowdown in hiring. Nonetheless, the labour market largely outperformed expectations last year, providing impetus to the economy.

Fed officials are keeping a close eye on labor demand and wage growth as they discuss when interest rates might be cut.

The four-week moving average rose to 215000, the highest since February. Moving averages help smooth short-term fluctuations in weekly data.

Continued jobless claims rose to 1.79 million in the week ended April 27th, the biggest increase in a month.

In the two decades before the outbreak, the average number of weekly first-time jobless claims was about 345000, and the average number of continuous jobless claims was about 2.9 million.