The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the U.S. is continuing to rise.
Jobless claims rose to 242,000 for the week ending April 29.
While this was a 13,000 jump from the previous week, the total still remains on the low end, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Additionally, the 4-week moving average was 239,250 -- an increase of 3,500 from the previous week's average.
The largest increase in initial claims for the week ending April 22 was in Massachusetts, where 8,774 new applications were filed. That's followed by Illinois (+2,482), New York (+1,487), Michigan (+625), and Colorado (+604).
While Massachusetts supplied no comment for its rise in claims, Illinois attributed its change to layoffs in the manufacturing, construction, wholesale trade, and retail trade industries. New York also blamed its increase on layoffs in the transportation and warehousing, educational services, real estate and rental and leasing industries.
Meantime, several states reported a drop in the number of initial claims. California saw the biggest decrease at 3,754, followed by Ohio (-3,236), New Jersey (-2,962), Connecticut (-2,076), and Rhode Island (-1,426).
Two states offered explanations for the drop in unemployment claims; California said there were fewer layoffs in the service industry, and Ohio said it saw fewer layoffs in the manufacturing and automobile industries.
While the number of new applications is up, data shows the number of continued claims is down. According to the Labor Department, an estimated 1.81 billion Americans were collecting benefits for the week of April 22 -- a decrease of 38,000 from the previous week.
States with the highest insured unemployment rates, which is the number of people currently receiving unemployment benefits, for the week ending April 15 include:
• California (2.4%)
• New Jersey (2.4%)
• Rhode Island (2.1%)
• Massachusetts (2.0%)
• Minnesota (1.8%)
• New York (1.8%)
• Alaska (1.7%)
• Illinois (1.6%)
• Oregon (1.6%)
• Washington (1.6%)
According to the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, layoffs in March reached the highest level since 2020 -- increasing to 1.8 million. At the same time, job openings are at the lowest level since 2021 -- decreasing to 9.6 million.
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