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September 4, 2025
A day ahead of the release, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose in the week ending on August 30. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 237,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. With the bigger increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting a matching figure in the week ending on June 21.
The report stated that the less volatile four-week moving average also increased to 231,000, a rise of 2,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 228,500. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said that continuing claims, which read the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, edged down by 4,000 to 1.940 million in the week ending on August 23.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also slipped to 1,946,750, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,953,750. On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on the employment situation in the month of August. 09/04/2025 - 09:41:00 (RTTNews)
A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed labor productivity in the U.S. surged by much more during the second quarter of 2025. The Labor Department said labor productivity shot up by 3.3% in the second quarter compared to the previously reported 2.4% jump. The stronger growth by productivity, a measure of output per hour, came as output spiked by 4.4% compared to the previously reported 3.7% surge.
The report also showed the increase in hours worked in the second quarter was downwardly revised to 1.1% from 1.3%. The sharp increase in labor productivity during the second quarter came following a 1.8% slump in the first quarter, which marked the first decline since the second quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said unit labor costs climbed by 1.0% in the second quarter compared to the previously reported 1.6% growth. Real hourly compensation, which takes changes in consumer prices into account, also shot up by 2.6% compared to the previously reported 2.3% jump. The downward increase in unit labor costs in the second quarter came following a 6.9% spike in the first quarter. 09/04/2025 - 10:15:00 (RTTNews)
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