US Jobless Claims Surge, Raising Concerns about Labor Market
The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment benefits rose by 18,000 to 241,000 in the week ended April 26, according to the data released by the Labor Department on Thursday. This figure exceeded the median forecast of 223,000 by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the number of people continuing to claim unemployment benefits rose to 1.92 million in the week ended April 19, the highest since 2021 and also beyond economists' expectations.
US Manufacturing Sector Faces Gloomy Outlook as ISM Index Plunges
The US manufacturing sector witnessed a significant setback in April, with the ISM manufacturing index registering its sharpest decline since November. Data released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Thursday showed that the manufacturing index dropped 0.3 points to 48.7, below the 50 - point threshold that separates expansion from contraction, indicating an overall shrinking manufacturing sector.









