The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time rose by 13,000 in the latest week, as 242,000 Initial Jobless Claims were reported. Continuing Claims, which reflect people continuing to receive unemployment benefits after their initial claim is filed, declined by 38,000 to 1.805 million.

What’s the bottom line? Jobless Claims can be volatile from week to week, but they continue to trend higher. Initial Jobless Claims have remained above 200,000 since early February. Plus, the four-week average of Initial Jobless Claims, which smooths out some of the weekly fluctuation among first-time filers, has hovered around 240,000 near a yearly high in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Continuing Claims have now risen by over 500,000 since the low reached last September, which shows the challenges people are subsequently facing as they search for new employment.