Claims, both initial and continuing, jump/What Challenger said

Initial jobless claims rose to 241k from 223k and that was well above the estimate of 223k. The 4 week average rose to 226k from 221k. Also of importance, continuing claims jumped to 1.916mm from 1.833mm and 50k above the estimate. That is the highest level since November 2021.

Bottom line, just maybe this is the first sign of company retrenchment on the firing side. That said, I never put too much stake in one week's outlier until it's confirmed by further weeks of increases. The rise in continuing claims though is further evidence, highlighted yesterday with the ADP report, of the slowdown in hiring.