US Jobless Claims Jump by Most Since 2020 After Holiday Drop (4)

Applications for US unemployment benefits rose last week by the most since the onset of the pandemic, underscoring the volatile nature of claims at this time of year.

Initial claims increased by 44,000 to 236,000 in the week ended Dec. 6, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. That was the biggest jump since March 2020 and followed the lowest level of applications in more than three years in the previous week, which included Thanksgiving. The figure exceeded all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Weekly initial claims tend to be choppy around ...