U.S. jobless claims rise slightly, labor market remains resilient

The latest jump in jobless claims was small enough to leave the labor market looking sturdy, even if it is no longer as fast-moving as earlier this year. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 in the week ended June 6, above the 219,000 economists expected and the highest reading since February.

The broader picture still points to resilience rather than breakdown. The U.S. Department of Labor said the claims figure came in above the prior week’s unrevised 225,000, while continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people still receiving benefits after the first week, climbed 24,000 to 1.795 million in the week ended May 30. That suggests layoffs remain relatively contained, but workers who lose jobs are taking longer to find new ones.

That slower re-employment showed up in May’s unemployment data. The unemployment rate held at 4.3%, unchanged from April, while total nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hiring gains were concentrated in leisure and hospitality, local government and health care, while employment in financial activities declined. The labor force participation rate remained 61.8%, and the employment-population ratio was 59.2%.

The length of unemployment also points to a cooler hiring environment underneath the headline stability. Reuters reported that the median duration of unemployment increased to 11.6 weeks in May, the longest since November 2021. The share of unemployed people who had been out of work for 27 weeks or more climbed to 27.5% of all unemployed workers, underscoring that the slack is showing up more in job search times than in layoffs.

Seasonal quirks help explain why the weekly claims series can wobble in early summer. The Labor Department said some states allow non-teaching staff to claim benefits during school holidays, which can distort the reading. Even so, the trend has been moving modestly higher, and economists have been watching whether policy uncertainty begins to weigh more heavily on hiring.

That concern has only sharpened amid tariffs and the U.S.-led war with Iran. The Associated Press said claims still remained historically low despite those economic headwinds, reinforcing the view that the labor market is cooling unevenly rather than cracking. For now, the data show fewer signs of widespread layoffs, but more friction for workers trying to move back into employment.