The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that initial claims for unemployment benefits increased to 218,000 for the week ended May 14th.  For March, DOL 2022 posted a low of 166,000 claims suggesting easing over the past month.  At the end of March, the DOL recorded 11.5 million job openings significantly higher than the 6.1 million vacant positions in April 2020 at the onset of the COVID pandemic.

Despite the increase in claims, wage gains continue with implications for ongoing inflation.