British recruiters saw the weakest growth in hiring in more than a year and a half last month, as signs of an economic downturn made workers more wary about changing jobs and businesses more cautious about hiring, a survey showed on Friday.

U.S. stock indexes futures pared losses on Thursday, with Nasdaq futures briefly turning positive after data showing an increase in weekly jobless claims suggested the Federal Reserve may need to ease its aggressive monetary tightening cycle.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased by the most in four months last week, but the labor market remains tight even as demand for labor is cooling amid higher interest rates.

The Bank of England looks set to hike borrowing costs by another 50 basis points next week, although it may opt for an even bigger move, a Reuters poll found, adding to the woes of indebted households already facing a cost of living crisis.

Britain's jobless rate hit its lowest since 1974 but the drop was due mostly to a fall in the size of the workforce and there were other signs that the country's jobs boom is petering out, adding to the Bank of England's inflation headache.

It was meant to be Europe's stellar year.

China's central bank is set to take more easing steps, pressured by a shaky economy that is undercutting jobs, but it faces limited room to manoeuvre due to worries over rising inflation and capital flight, policy insiders and analysts said.

China's wobbly economy stumbled further at the start of the second half of the year, with factories unexpectedly switching back to the slow lane.

Traders will be poring over policymakers' views on the outlook for the world's biggest economy as they try to rein in inflation while nurturing growth.

Britain is set to have the lowest economic growth of any Group of Seven country, projections show.

U.S. economic growth could fall below 1% this year and remain sluggish through 2023 as the Fed acts "resolutely" to curb inflation, New York Federal Reserve president John Williams said Friday.

Recession worry-warts did not find much to fan their anxiety in Friday's stronger-than-expected U.S.

Britain's jobless rate rose for the first time since late 2020 and other measures of the country's hot labour market cooled, potentially easing inflation worries at the Bank of England which is due to raise rates again this week.

Markets have sold off sharply this year on growing worries about an economic slowdown due to aggressive Fed policy moves aimed at reining in surging prices.

There are concerns the Fed could raise rates too high and choke off economic growth

Claims are a closely-watched metric of labor market health, and shot into the millions when the pandemic broke out in the United States in March 2020.

Biden's efforts received a big endorsement, when IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva offered her support for the plan, and rejected the notion it was excessive.

The Fed has estimated that the jobless rate will end the year at 6.7 percent before dipping to 5 percent next year.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits remain higher than the worst of the 2008-2010 global financial crisis.

All three main indexes in New York suffered hefty selling.

With the disease showing little sign of being fully controlled until a vaccine is created, economic recoveries and a months-long global markets rally are sputtering.

While tensions between China and the US continue to play in the background, the general mood at the start of June has been upbeat.

Coronavirus has claimed thousands of lives, with Spain and Britain seeing the highest number of daily fatalities yet.

Traders' focus has returned to the devastation wrought on populations and the long-term impact of the pandemic.

It triggers the distribution of millions of relief checks of up to $3,400 for an average American family of four.

The Trump administration released the Economic Report of the President on Thursday, which claims a vast improvement over the previous administration.

Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party improved on their last year's score in the 542-member lower house of the Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha.

Germany is operating at full employment, with the jobless rate only 3.4 percent. Others such as Spain and Italy have double-digit unemployment rates.

Strong hiring in May pushes U.S unemployment rate to 18-year low.

A decade after the financial and debt crisis ravaged the Eurozone the economic indicators are "flashing green."