US weekly jobless claims surge, but trend still consistent with labor market stability
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... Weekly jobless claims increase 22,000 to 231,000

Continuing claims rise 25,000 to 1.844 million

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a stable labor market.

The biggest rise in weekly jobless claims in nearly two months reported by the Labor Department on Thursday likely reflected distortions from snowstorms across much of the country as well as normalization after volatility linked to difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations around the holiday season and at the turn of the year.

"There is no sign of the kind of layoffs we expect to see in a weakening labor market during the early days of a recession," said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. "The level of claims is just very low. Claims are well within the recent range over the last two years."

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits jumped 22,000, the largest increase since early December, to a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ended January 31, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 212,000 claims for the latest week. ...

US job openings drop to more than five-year low in December
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... U.S. job openings dropped to the lowest level in more than five years in December and data for the prior month was revised lower amid a softening in labor market conditions at the end of 2025.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, decreased by 386,000 to 6.542 million by the last day of December, the lowest level since September 2020, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Thursday. ...