Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 33,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 258,000 for the week ended October 5.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, but Hurricane Helene's rampage in the U.S. Southeast and strikes at Boeing and ports could distort the labor market picture in the near term.

Applications for jobless benefits are widely considered representative of U.S. layoffs in a given week, but they can be volatile and susceptible to historic events.

The recent jump in US unemployment claims, reaching its highest in a year, is attributed to Hurricane Helene and a machinist strike at Boeing. Despite these factors, the Federal Reserve views the impacts as temporary and plans to lower interest rates,

Analysts highlighted jobless benefit applications across states such as, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week jumped to its highest level in a year, which analysts are saying is more likely a result of Hurricane Helene — and the Boeing machinist strike — than a broader softening in the labor market.

On top of a hotter-than-expected inflation print, weekly jobless claims came in above expectations on both an initial and continuing basis.