Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs remained at historic lows, even as other signs of a cooling labor market surfaced.
The number of jobless claims for the week ending May 11 fell by 10,000 to 222,000 from 232,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Last week’s number of applications was the highest since the last week of August 2023, but the number of layoffs remains relatively low.
The four-week average number of applications, which smooths out some weekly fluctuations, increased by 2,500 to 217,750.
Weekly jobless claims represent the number of layoffs in the United States that week and are considered an indicator of where the job market is heading.
It remains at a historic low since millions of jobs were lost when the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic hit the United States in spring 2020.
U.S. employers added just 175,000 jobs in April, the fewest in six months, suggesting the labor market may finally be cooling down.
The unemployment rate has gradually risen from 3.8% to 3.9% and has now remained below 4% for 27 consecutive months, the longest such streak since the 1960s.
The government recently announced that there were 8.5 million job openings in March, the lowest number in three years.
A slower pace of hiring and slower wage growth could give the Fed the data it needs to ultimately decide to cut interest rates.
a cool reading about consumptioner inflation The interest rate decision in April may also influence the Fed’s next interest rate decision.
The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark borrowing rate 11 times starting in March 2022, with the aim of curbing 40-year high inflation that took hold after the economy recovered from the 2020 coronavirus recession.
The Fed’s aim was to ease the labor market and slow wage growth, which could fuel inflation.
Although many economists thought rapid interest rate hikes could trigger a recession, the economy remains largely healthy, with jobs still plentiful and consumer spending strong.
Although layoffs remain at a low level, companies are announcing: There has been an increase in layoffs recently.primarily across technology and media.
Google’s parent company Alphabet, apple and eBay have both recently announced job cuts.
Outside of technology and media, Walmart, Peloton, Stellantis, Nike, and Tesla recently announced job cuts.
A total of 1.79 million Americans received unemployment benefits in the week ending May 4.
This is an increase of 13,000 cases from the previous week.
