Stock market today: Dow plummets, S&P 500 and Nasdaq fall as oil surges to highest levels since 2024

Data released by the Labor Department showed that 213,000 people filed initial jobless claims in the week ended Feb. 28.

The count of claims, steady from the previous week’s revised level, was below economist expectations of 215,000 initial claims. The labor market signal comes ahead of Friday’s critical February jobs report.

Continuing claims for the week ended Feb. 21 totaled 1.86 million, overshooting consensus estimates of 1.84 million.

Rhode Island, Oklahoma, and Tennessee saw the largest increase in initial claims for the week ended Feb. 21, the Labor Department said.

On Friday, investors will get the week’s standout labor-market reading with the Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfarm payrolls report. Economists are expecting to see 55,000 jobs added in February, roughly in line with January estimates before the month’s adds printed at a blowout 130,000.

On Wednesday, data provider ADP reported 63,000 jobs added to private payrolls, exceeding estimates of 50,000. Layoff announcements also slid in February from the previous month to 48,307 from 108,435, according to a new report released Thursday from the global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.