Jobless claims jumped 22k to 242k last week, the largest weekly increase since October 2024 and above expectations of 221k initial claims.

• However, continued claims fell -5k to 1.862 million, below expectations of 1.870 million claims.
• The insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2%.
• District of Columbia claims only increased 421 to 2,047 so its unclear if the increase was due to DOGE layoffs.