What happened? Expectations of a sharp increase in initial jobless claims and interest rate cuts in the United States continue to "return". According to data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday, the number of initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose to the highest level since August last week. As of the week ending May 4th, the number of initial jobless claims increased by 22000 to 231000. The surveyed economists predicted a median of only 212000.