the number of americans registering for unemployment benefits in the week ending may 6 rose by 22000 to 264000 above the expected 242000 the us labor department reported thursday initial jobless claims came in at 264000 thats up from 242000 the prior week and well above expectations of 242000   this was the highest level in weekly unemployment claims since october 2021   the fourweek moving average for jobless claims which eliminates weektoweek variability rose to 245250 up from 239250 previously   continuing jobless claims for the week ended april 29 rose from a revised 1801000 to 1813000 slightly below the expected 1820000   noteworthy increases in jobless claims were reported in massachusetts up by 6375 california up by 2924 and missouri up by 2446 market reactions the us stock market is expected to open lower on thursday as indicated by futures on the sp 500 which are down 03 just ahead of the opening bell on wall street the sp 500 index is tracked by the spdr sp 500 etf trust spy yields on us treasuries fell across the board as markets saw the unexpectedly large number of new applications for unemployment insurance as an early warning sign of weakness in the labor market thursday also saw the producer price index ppi rising less than expected last month traders are currently fully pricing in a fed rate pause in june and are increasing their bets on a rate cut as early as july next us producer prices rise less than expected in april cementing hopes of fed hold in june