National + Finance | May 11, 2023

Jobless Claims Rise as Wholesale Inflation Ebbs

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a 1-1/2-year high of 264,000 last week, pointing to cracks in the labor market as demand slows, Reuters reported Thursday. This potentially gives the Federal Reserve room to halt further interest rate increases next month.

With demand cooling, inflation pressures are subsiding, reported Reuters. Producer prices rebounded modestly in April, leading to the smallest annual increase in wholesale inflation—2.3%—in more than two years, other data from the Labor Department showed on Thursday. The reports were seen as consistent with most economists’ expectations of a recession by year-end.

“The Fed looks closer to winning the war on inflation today, but it risks losing the war on keeping the economy afloat and away from the shoals of recession,” Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York, told Reuters.

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FWDBONDS' Rupkey

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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