LA wildfires push US jobless claims to highest in six weeks
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Thursday 23 Jan 2025
(Sharecast News) - Claims for unemployment benefits in the United States rose to their highest in six weeks with new claims in California at a two-year high as wildfires spread across the north-west LA area.
Initial weekly jobless claims totalled 223,000 in the week ended 17 January, up 6,000 from the previous week's total of 217,000. The consensus forecast was for a smaller rise to 220,000.
Claims in California alone rose nearly 6,744 to 60,988, even as seasonal factors anticipated a sharp decline, with the increase thought to be attributed to wildfires putting people out of work, according to analysts at Oxford Economics.
More than 10,000 homes in the area have been destroyed by the fires, which are still ravaging parts of the region.
The research firm predicts that losses related to those fires could continue to boost claims in California in the weeks ahead.
"We could also see some increase in claims related to the extreme cold in much of the country, including unusually harsh winter weather in much of the South this week," Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist.
Back to the national figures, continuing jobless claims - the number of people continuing to receive benefits - jumped 46,000 to 1.899m, their highest level since November 2021 and well ahead of the 1.860m estimate.
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