Jobless Claims

Every Thursday, the US government reports how many people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time that week, known as initial jobless claims. Because it's weekly rather than monthly, it's one of the fastest-moving readings on the health of the labor market, and a sudden jump can be an early sign that layoffs are picking up before it shows up in the slower, more comprehensive jobs report. Markets watch the trend more than any single week's number, since one noisy week can be seasonal or a data quirk rather than a real shift.