Current:Home > MarketsSlightly more American apply for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs remain at low levels -Quantum Capital Pro
Slightly more American apply for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs remain at low levels
View
Date:2025-04-21 21:15:27
The number of Americans applying for jobless aid ticked up last week but layoffs remain at historically low levels.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claim applications rose by 3,000 to 221,000 for the week of Nov. 2. That’s fewer than the 227,000 analysts forecast.
The four-week average of weekly claims, which softens some of the week-to-week fluctuations, fell by 9,750 to 227,250.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs in a given week.
Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, rose by 39,000 to 1.89 million for the week of Oct. 26. That’s the most since late 2021.
In response to weakening employment data and receding consumer prices, the Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate in September by a half a percentage point as the central bank shifted its focus from taming inflation toward supporting the job market. The Fed is hoping to execute a rare “soft landing,” whereby it brings down inflation without tipping the economy into a recession.
It was the Fed’s first rate cut in four years after a series of increases starting in 2022 that pushed the federal funds rate to a two-decade high of 5.3%.
The Fed is expected to announce later Thursday that it has cut its benchmark borrowing rate by another quarter point.
Inflation has retreated steadily, approaching the Fed’s 2% target and leading Chair Jerome Powell to declare recently that it was largely under control.
Last week, the government reported that an inflation gauge closely watched by the Fed fell to its lowest level in three-and-a-half years.
During the first four months of 2024, applications for jobless benefits averaged just 213,000 a week before rising in May. They hit 250,000 in late July, supporting the notion that high interest rates were finally cooling a red-hot U.S. job market.
In October, the U.S. economy produced a meager 12,000 jobs, though economists pointed to recent strikes and hurricanes that left many workers temporarily off payrolls.
In August, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March this year than were originally reported. The revised total was also considered evidence that the job market has been slowing steadily, compelling the Fed to start cutting interest rates. 2021.
veryGood! (62971)
Related
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Powerball winning numbers from Oct. 23 drawing: Jackpot now at $100 million
- Wisconsin wildlife officials to vote new on wolf management plan with no population goal
- Rams cut veteran kicker Brett Maher after three misses during Sunday's loss to Steelers
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Poison specialist and former medical resident at Mayo Clinic is charged with poisoning his wife
- Colorado bear attacks security guard inside hotel kitchen leading to wildlife search
- Indictments accuse 4 Minnesota men in a $21 million catalytic converter theft ring
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- Quakes killed thousands in Afghanistan. Critics say Taliban relief efforts fall short
Ranking
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Are I Bonds a good investment? Shake-up in rates changes the answer (a little)
- 'Bold and brazen' scammers pose as clergy, target immigrants in California, officials warn
- Rents are falling in major cities. Here are 24 metro areas where tenants are paying less this year.
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Detroit man who threatened Michigan governor, secretary of state sentenced to 15 months probation
- The downsides of self-checkout, and why retailers aren't expected to pull them out anytime soon
- Driver in Malibu crash that killed 4 Pepperdine students arrested on murder charges
Recommendation
Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
Mexico deploys 300 National Guard troopers to area where 13 police officers were killed in an ambush
NHL switches stance, overturns ban on players using rainbow-colored tape on sticks
Georgia’s lieutenant governor wants to pay teachers $10,000 a year to carry guns at school
Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
Stranded American family faces uncertainty in war-torn Gaza
Rams cut veteran kicker Brett Maher after three misses during Sunday's loss to Steelers
Travis Kelce is aware his stats improve whenever Taylor Swift attends Chiefs' games