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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week reached the highest level in a year.
On Thursday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed unemployment claims for the week ending on July 27 reached 249,000. This number represented an increase of 14,000 from the previous week, which was 235,000 unemployment claims.
In June, about 160,000 workers in the United States became unemployed, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In June 2024, there were 6.8 million Americans who were unemployed compared to 6.65 million in May who were not working, the government data showed. This unemployment data, however, differs from state to state.
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"In total, 26 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.1 percent, 4 states and the District had higher rates, and 20 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation," the BLS said in a statement in a release of last month's statistics.
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Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via email on Thursday for comment.
The AP reported that weekly unemployment claims currently remain at "healthy" levels on a historical basis despite being slightly higher in the past few months.
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The newly released data from the BLS showed that a four-week average of unemployment claims reached 238,000, representing an increase of 2,500.
According to the AP, the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits for the week ending on July 20 reached 1.88 million, a rise of 33,000 from the previous week. The four-week average of those collecting unemployment benefits reached 1,857,000, which is the highest level since December 2021, the AP said.
In a Thursday post on X (formerly Twitter), Peter Berezin, the director of research and chief global strategist at BCA Research, shared data from the BLS on unemployment claims and wrote, "Both initial and continuing unemployment claims are now notably above pre-pandemic levels."
"The soft landing is morphing into quicksand," Berezin added.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released data on the current state of the American economy showing that it expanded at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024. This exceeded the 2.1-percent forecast of economists polled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in May.
U.S. inflation moderated to around 3 percent in June, the lowest level in over three years, per the Consumer Price Index report. This decline in inflation comes as the Federal Reserve considers cutting interest rates.
Update 8/1/24 10:16 a.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information.
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