New economic data releases on Thursday painted a mixed picture of the labor market and housing sector in the United States.

On the employment front, the number of initial jobless claims fell to 238,000 for the week ending June 15. While this figure marked a decrease from the previous week's level, it still was hotter than economists' expectations of 235,000.

The housing sector also showed signs of strain, with both housing starts and building permits falling more than expected in May. Housing starts fell by 5.5% month over month, plunging to their lowest levels since 2020. Similarly, building permits experienced a 3.8% month-over-month drop.

Yahoo Finance's Brad Smith and Madison Mills dissect the data, providing insights into what this means for the economy and inflationary pressures.

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This post was written by Angel Smith