Investing.com -- The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits was greater than anticipated last week, in the latest sign of potential cooling in the U.S. labor market.
According to Labor Department data on Thursday, initial jobless claims rose to 231,000 in the week ending on May 4, increasing from an upwardly revised total of 209,000 in the prior week. It was the highest mark since August and above economists' expectations of 212,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which aims to account for variances in the weekly figure, moved up by 4,750 to 215,000.
The numbers come days after a closely-watched jobs market report showed that the U.S. added 175,000 roles in April, far below forecasts and the smallest uptick in six months. The rate of unemployment in the U.S. also ticked up to 3.9%, topping projections of 3.8%, further indicating that the steam is coming out of the once red-hot jobs market in the world's largest economy.
At the time, investors brought forward their bets on when the Federal Reserve -- which believes easing labor demand could help quell inflationary pressures -- will ratchet down interest rates from more than two-decade highs. Markets now widely expect the central bank to roll out a 25-basis point reduction as soon as September, earlier than prior estimates of November.