Unemployment Claims Hit Highest Level in Almost a Year

New U.S. unemployment claims have reached their highest level in close to a year.

According to Labor Department data released Thursday (Aug. 1), jobless claims for the week ending July 27 rose to 249,000, from 235,000 the prior week.

It’s the highest number since the since early August of 2023, and the 10th week in a row new claims — typically seen as a proxy for layoffs — have been north of 220,000.

The data shows that advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending July 20, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 20 was 1,877,000, an increase of 33,000 from the previous week’s revised level,” the department added. “This is the highest level for insured unemployment since November 27, 2021 when it was 1,878,000.”

The news comes one day after the monthly employment report from ADP, showing a continued slowing in job and wage growth.

According to that report, U.S. companies added 122,000 jobs in July, down from 155,000 in June. Meanwhile, wage increases slowed to 4.8%, the most languid pace in three years, while increases for people switching jobs slowed from 7.7% to 7.2% in July.

These reports are happening at a time when consumers feel relatively confident about the job market but still have concerns about rising prices.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index showed a slight increase this month, a sign of mixed sentiments from American consumers.

“Even though consumers remain relatively positive about the labor market, they still appear to be concerned about elevated prices and interest rates, and uncertainty about the future; things that may not improve until next year,” said Dana M. Peterson, the board’s chief economist.

Meanwhile, the latest version of the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment showed a decline, as higher prices still pressure lower-income consumers.

PYMNTS Intelligence research has shown that these consumers are seeing the large majority of their earnings go toward covering their basic needs, with people who make under $50,000 annually spending 72% of their income each month covering food, monthly bills and — for the most part — housing costs.

Beyond that, the latest installment of the PYMNTS Intelligence study “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report” found that roughly two-thirds of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, with almost a quarter of them having trouble paying their monthly bills.