The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits last week hits 263,000, most in nearly 4 years

U.S. jobless claim applications jumped to their highest level in almost four years last week, the latest sign that the labor market is softening
A job seeker waits to talk to a recruiter at a job fair Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

A job seeker waits to talk to a recruiter at a job fair Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Business
By MATT OTT – AP Business Writer
8 hours ago
X

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. jobless claim applications jumped to their highest level in almost four years last week, the latest sign that the labor market is softening.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Sept. 6 rose 27,000 to 263,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most filings since the week of Oct. 23, 2021 and well above the 231,000 new applications economists forecast.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and have mostly settled in a historically low range between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. began to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic nearly four years ago.

The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 9,750 to 240,500.

The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits for the previous week of Aug. 30 was unchanged at 1.94 million.

In Other News
1
Hamilton man charged in 2022 Walmart double shooting will represent...
2
Miami University Marching Band to play at Bengals game this Sunday
3
Middletown man sentenced to 29 years for sexually exploiting toddler on...
4
Downtown Springfield Winans to close Sunday
5
Butler County deputies arrest two for endangering children