US weekly jobless claims increase as labor market softens

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits increased sharply last week, consistent with a material softening in labor market conditions.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits jumped 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 263,000 for the week ended September 6, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 235,000 claims for the latest week.

The government said this week that nonfarm payrolls could have been overstated by 911,000 jobs in the 12 months through March. That followed the release last Friday of the monthly employment report, which showed job growth almost stalled in August and the economy shed jobs in June for the first time in four and a half years amid tariff uncertainty.

A survey from the New York Federal Reserve on Monday showed consumers' confidence of finding a job in August was the lowest since June 2013. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates at its policy meeting next Wednesday, with a quarter-percentage-point reduction fully priced in. The Fed paused its easing cycle in January because of uncertainty over the inflationary impact of tariffs.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid were unchanged at 1.939 million during the week ending August 30, the claims report showed.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)

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