Welcome to this week’s labor market update.

New unemployment benefit filings rose to their highest level in eight months, climbing by 8,000 to 247,000 for the week ending May 31—the “most since early October.” Even so, weekly claims remain stuck in a historically healthy 200,000 to 250,000 range.

Many companies are pulling or lowering guidance, blaming the “dizzying rollout of tariff announcements,” and economists warn of a potential “tariff-induced global economic slowdown.” Fed Chair Jerome Powell says the risks of “both higher unemployment and inflation are elevated, an unusual combination” that complicates policy.

Meanwhile, April job openings surprised with a rise, but quits fell and layoffs ticked up, pointing to cooling confidence. With just one job opening per unemployed worker—down from two last December—the tight labor market is loosening. Friday’s May jobs report is expected to show 130,000 new jobs.
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