US applications for jobless benefits jump to 231,000 last week, the most in 2 months.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits surged to 231,000 last week, marking the highest level in two months, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday, February 5, 2026. This increase of 22,000 applications from the previous week exceeded analysts' expectations, which had forecasted 211,000 new claims. Despite the jump, the figures remain within the historically low range observed over the past few years. The rise in jobless claims comes amid a backdrop of mounting layoffs by prominent companies, including UPS, Amazon, and Dow, as well as recent staff reductions at the Washington Post, which laid off a third of its employees, eliminating several key departments. The labor market has shown signs of slowing down, with employers adding only 50,000 jobs in December, a figure nearly unchanged from the revised November total of 56,000. The unemployment rate, however, dipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June. The January jobs report, initially scheduled for release on Friday, was delayed due to a partial government shutdown earlier in the week. The U.S. economy added just 584,000 jobs in 2025, a significant drop from the over 2 million jobs added in 2024. This represents the smallest annual job gains since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the slimmest increase outside of recessions since 2003. The Labor Department also reported that businesses posted fewer jobs in November, with 7.1 million open positions, down from 7.4 million in October. This data indicates a labor market that has slowed due to economic uncertainty, including the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs and the lingering effects of high interest rates set by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023 to combat inflation. The Federal Reserve had cut its benchmark lending rate three times at the end of 2025 to support the labor market but left it unchanged last week amid signs of economic improvement and a stabilizing job market. The four-week moving average of jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 212,250, while the total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the week ending January 24 increased by 25,000 to 1.84 million.