Applications for Unemployment Benefits rise…

And ARE gonna KEEP doimng So….

Meaning that STATES will be disburing MONEY as Trump looks to cut their Federal Assistance…..

Things gonna get worse….

First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose much more than expected last week, a likely indication of some “noisy” data, but also a potential worrisome hint that cracks may be forming in America’s long-solid labor market.

There were an estimated 242,000 jobless claims filed last week, according to seasonally adjusted data released Thursday by the Department of Labor. That’s an increase of 22,000 from the prior week’s tally and a figure that landed well above economists’ expectations for 220,000 claims.

It’s the largest weekly spike in claims in more than four months and the weekly claims — a proxy for layoffs — are at their highest level since early December, Labor Department data shows.

Initial claims data, while one of the timeliest indicators of labor market health, also can be quite volatile and fluctuate from week to week due to factors such as weather, temporary layoffs, other state-level factors, and holidays….

…

“We will have to wait another week for the detail on precisely how many initial claims were filed nationwide by former Federal civilian employees, but the number totaled 614 in the week ending February 15, up just one — that’s not a misprint — on the previous week,” Samuel Tombs, chief US economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a note to investors on Thursday. “It will take another week or two for the job cuts implemented mid-month to come through fully in the claims data.”

Also, it’s possible that hundreds of thousands of government workers could be laid off as Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency slash roles; however, the impact on US labor market data might not happen in one fell swoop, economists say.

“Do not expect a bursting of the pipes in initial claims and unemployment yet,” Joe Brusuelas, principal and chief economist at RSM US, said Thursday. “For now, it’s more likely to be a steady drip, drip, drip in the pace of firings.”

While some federal employees have been laid off in recent weeks, others are serving out a paid notice period…

More……