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Protesters have signs during a demonstration for federal workers in the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
Tierney L. Cross | Bloomberg | Getty images
The initial presentations for unemployment benefits reached their highest level of the last year in other possible signs of weakness in the labor market.
The unemployment statements for the week that ended on February 22 totaled 242,000 seasonally adjusted, an increase of 22,000 of the revised level of the previous week and higher than the estimation of Dow Jones for 225,000, according to a report by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The level of claims agreed with the highest level since the beginning of October 2024 and occurs amid questions about broader economic growth and worrying signs in the recent consumer feelings surveys.
President Donald Trump has been taking aggressive measures to reduce the Federal Labor Force through the Efficiency Advisory Board of the Elon Musk Efficiency Department. The efforts to have resulted in thousands of job cuts and are expected to continue.
In Washington, DC, the new claims total 2,047, an increase of 421, or 26%, according to the numbers not adjusted for seasonal factors. That is the largest number for the city since March 25, 2023, according to the records of the Department of Labor, and is consistent with an increase that began in early January.
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