Jan. 21, 2022—Unemployment claims in the U.S. climbed to 286,000 last week, an increase of 55,000 and the highest total since October.
The jump is the largest one-week increase since July, according to a report from the Associated Press. The four-week rolling claims average, which "smooths out weekly volatility," only rose by 20,000 to 231,000.
“We could see one more week of notably higher claims before they should top out,″ analysts with Contingent Macro Advisors predicted. “This bears close watching going forward.″
The report says the economy has bounced back from 2021's "brief but intense" recession spurred on by the pandemic. Overall, the unemployment rate fell to a pandemic low of 3.9 percent last month.
