<img src=”https://storage.googleapis.com/prod-zenger-upload/image/20230803/feat_19f8c918-29e9-445e-a738-e2c7021faa6b.jpg” alt=”A ‘Now Hiring’ sign is posted at a Verizon store on July 26, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. As the Federal Reserve continues to increase interest rates, the labor market is starting to show signs of slowing down. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits slightly increased last week, reaching 227,000, aligning with economist predictions and indicating the U.S. labor market’s continued resilience. PHOTO BY MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES “>

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits slightly increased last week, reaching 227,000, aligning with economist predictions and indicating the U.S. labor market’s continued resilience.

The Department of Labor’s latest report Thursday showed a marginal uptick of 6,000 claims from the previous week’s 221,000 filings, meeting expectations.

The update on jobless claims after came after ADP employment data for July revealed a substantial rise of 324,000 jobs, surpassing the anticipated 189,000, setting an optimistic tone ahead of the crucial jobs report on Friday.

Looking ahead, the consensus economists projections call for a slight dip in non-farm payrolls, from 209,000 in June to 200,000 in July. The unemployment rate is expected to remain stable at 3.6%, while wage growth is likely to ease slightly from 4.4% to 4.2%.

Key Highlights From Last Week’s Jobless Claims

Futures on the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq 100 Index continued to slide in the premarket, down 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. On Thursday the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) fell 0.32%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) was down 0.57%.

Treasury yields continue to rise, with the 10-year yield surging 6 basis points to 4.15%, the highest since November 2022.

The U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF (NYSE:UUP), slightly fell 0.1%.

Gold, as tracked by the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), ticked 0.1% higher to $1,935/oz.

Produced in association with Benzinga