BREAKING: U.S. Jobless Claims Climb to 235,000, Highest Since 2021

The number of people in the U.S. who are getting unemployment benefits has reached 235,000, the highest amount since late 2021.

The Labor Department said at 8:30 a.m. ET that the number of new unemployment insurance claims jumped to 235,000, after adjusting for the season, in the week ending August 16.

It was 11,000 more than the week before. The moving average for the last four weeks went up to 226,250.

There are still 1.972 million people receiving unemployment benefits, which is a great way to measure how many people are still unemployed. This is 30,000 more than the week that ended on August 9. The rate of insured unemployment stayed the same at 1.3%.

The government said in its announcement,

There were 194,920 original claims that were not changed, which is around 2.2% fewer than the week before. Over the preceding four weeks, the average number of continuing claims rose to 1,954,500. Last week, the agency also announced that the number of continuing claims has gone down to 1,942,000.

According to state data, New Jersey (2.7%), Puerto Rico (2.6%), and Rhode Island (2.5%) had some of the highest rates of insured unemployment for the week ending August 2. For the week ending August 2, all programs had a total of 2,005,755 continuing weeks claimed.

Possible result: The rise in new and ongoing claims shows that the job market is slowing down at the edges. In the next several days, markets and policymakers will look at this along with other indicators from August. level though claims data might alter a lot from week to week, the four-week averages help keep things level.

We know these numbers came from the Labor Department’s weekly Unemployment Insurance report, which couldn’t be shared until 8:30 a.m. (Eastern) on Thursday, August 21, 2025. We are still waiting for a response. The publication next week will provide the final facts at the state level and any changes that were made after that. We’re also keeping an eye on how today’s claims fit into wider trends in the job market and how the market reacts.

The U.S. Department of Labor puts out weekly reports on unemployment insurance claims. The narrative is still going on. Experts will keep an eye on how these claims could slow down the economy’s recovery as things change. Stakeholders are especially interested in how this knowledge affects their hopes for job development and the market’s general stability.

The research that follows will assist both governments and businesses get ready for how the economy will shift. As the month goes on, further updates will help us understand how shifts in consumer confidence and employment trends can arise.