by Mitti Hicks
February 28, 2025
242,000 jobless claims were filed last week.
The number of jobless claims increased more than expected last week as more first-time applicants applied for unemployment benefits.
According to CNN, an estimated 242,000 jobless claims were filed last week, an increase of 22,000 from the prior week. Economists, however, were reportedly expecting to land around 220,000 claims.
The number of jobless claims filed last week is the largest weekly spike in more than four months. Weekly claims have also been at their highest levels since December.
Despite the uptick, the U.S. Labor Department said snowstorms in parts of the country and the Presidents Day holiday are to blame, which could result in some volatility, Reuters reports.
“Extreme winter weather was chiefly responsible for the pickup in initial claims last week,” Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told the publication.
How Mass Layoffs at The Federal Level Impact Unemployment
What remains unclear is how the mass layoffs at the federal level, spearheaded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who oversees the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will impact claims. According to Reuters, federal employees file separate unemployment compensation, which is reported to have a one-week lag. The latest data from Feb. 15 shows 614 people filed for benefits, which is only up by one from the previous week.
“We will have to wait another week for the detail on precisely how many initial claims were filed nationwide by former Federal civilian employees, but the number totaled 614 in the week ending February 15, up just one — that’s not a misprint — on the previous week,” Tombs told wrote in a note to investors on Feb. 27, as reported by CNN. “It will take another week or two for the job cuts implemented mid-month to come through fully in the claims data.”
The February jobs report is scheduled to be released on March 7. Economists reportedly expect employment growth to increase again, predicting the U.S. will add about 160,000 jobs in February.
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