New weekly unemployment claims spiked far more than expected last week to a five-month high, as the coronavirus pandemic and stay-in-place orders weighed heavily on the labor market. … At 965,000, new jobless claims hit the highest level since August, ending what had been a tentative start of a downward trend in initial claims. Heading into Thursday’s report, new initial unemployment claims were expected to dip below 800,000 for a third straight week.