BusinessNewsTop StoryUS

Fewer Americans file for jobless claims last week

Around 204,000 people applied for first-time unemployment benefits last week, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s down from the previous week’s total jobless claims and only slightly below the pre-pandemic weekly average of 218,000. The Associated Press has the story:

Fewer Americans file for jobless claims last week

Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP)

Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, reflecting a still-robust job market despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy and bring down decades-high inflation.

Applications for unemployment aid for the week ending Dec. 31 fell by 19,000 to 204,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 6,750 to 220,500.

Jobless claims are generally viewed as a proxy for layoffs, which have been relatively low since the pandemic wiped out roughly 20 million jobs in the spring of 2020.

About 1.69 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended Dec. 24, about 24,000 fewer than the week before.

Thursday’s data indicates continued resilience in the labor market despite inflation-fighting efforts by the Federal Reserve intended to cool the economy — and which would ordinarily have a negative impact on the job market, resulting in layoffs.

Many economists and investors fear the Fed’s aggressive actions, which have included seven-straight jumbo rate hikes, could throw the economy into a recession. But so far, the labor market appears impervious.

“This is one reason to be optimistic the economy could skirt a recession,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said last week. “Without mass layoffs, it’s unlikely consumers will stop spending and the economy suffer a downturn.”

Economists were expecting 225,000 initial claims, according to a consensus estimate from Refinitiv.

Weekly jobless claims are volatile — especially around the holidays — and frequently subject to revision.

Read more business news

Previous Article
Huge storm hits Calif., damaging winds, heavy rains
Next Article
Ex-Philadelphia official picked for key elections post

How useful was this article?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this article.

Latest News

Menu