Initial Jobless Claims fell by 22,000 in the latest week, as 242,000 people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time. While this sounds like positive news on the surface, part of the decline stems from fraud in Massachusetts that spiked the numbers in the previous week. Continuing Jobless Claims also declined slightly by 8,000 to 1.799 million. This figure measures people who continue to receive benefits after their initial claim is filed.

What’s the bottom line? Jobless Claims data can be volatile from week to week, so it’s important to look at the overall trend, which continues to reflect rising unemployment. For example, the four-week average of Initial Jobless Claims, which smooths out some of the weekly fluctuation among first-time filers, reached the second highest level of the year at 244,250. Meanwhile, Continuing Claims have risen by more than 500,000 since the low reached last September, and they’re also up 165,000 since the start of the year. This metric remains at some of the highest levels seen in some time and is a clear sign that hiring has slowed.