Applications for unemployment benefits in the United States reached their highest level in four months last week, signaling growing economic uncertainty exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in Iran, even as overall layoffs remain historically low.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that US applications for jobless aid for the week ending May 30 climbed by 13,000 to 225,000. This marks the highest figure since early February, prior to the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, though it still represents a historically low level. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had anticipated 211,000 new applications.
