US initial jobless claims come in ahead of expectations at 215,000

28th May 2026 14:05

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated clip in the week ended 23 May, according to the Labor Department, rising by 5,000 to 215,000 - above expectations for a softer 1,000 increase.

Continuing claims increased by 15,000 to 1.78m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, rose bby 6,250 to 209,000.

However, despite the modest uptick, both measures remained below last year's averages and continued to point to a resilient US labour market.

Elsewhere, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ended 16 Ma, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com