Jobless Claims Rise Above Expectation to Highest Level in a Month Posted byThe Epoch Times September 23, 2021 Leave a comment on Jobless Claims Rise Above Expectation to Highest Level in a Month First-time filings for unemployment insurance-a proxy for layoffs-came in at 351,000 for the week ending Sept. 18, a rise of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 335,000.