A job fair in Riverhead, N.Y., in April. Jobless claims remain near 2019 prepandemic levels.
Photo:
Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday/Getty Images
New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week and hovered near historic lows in a sign of a tight U.S. labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, decreased to 210,000 last week from the previous week’s level of 218,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Claims remain near 2019 prepandemic levels, when the job market was also historically tight. The four-week average for claims, which smooths out volatility in the weekly figures, rose to 206,750 last week.
Thursday’s report showed continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of people receiving payments from state unemployment programs, increased slightly to 1.35 million for the week ended May 14 from 1.32 million a week earlier. They remain near the lowest level since 1969. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
Federal Reserve officials are steadily raising interest rates to curb high inflation. The interest-rate hikes are triggering stock-market turmoil as many investors increasingly fear a steep slowdown—or even recession—is imminent.
The rate increases could slow the pace of hiring in the coming months. The evidence thus far, though, suggests the labor market is running strong. Employers added 428,000 jobs in April, and the unemployment rate clocked in at 3.6%, just shy of its prepandemic level of 3.5%.
The number of job openings rose to 11.5 million in March, the highest since records began in 2000. The tight labor market has prompted workers to look for better opportunities. Roughly 4.5 million people quit their jobs in March.
Write to Sarah Chaney Cambon at sarah.chaney@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
A job fair in Riverhead, N.Y., in April. Jobless claims remain near 2019 prepandemic levels.
Photo:
Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday/Getty Images
New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week and hovered near historic lows in a sign of a tight U.S. labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, decreased to 210,000 last week from the previous week’s level of 218,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Claims remain near 2019 prepandemic levels, when the job market was also historically tight. The four-week average for claims, which smooths out volatility in the weekly figures, rose to 206,750 last week.
Thursday’s report showed continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of people receiving payments from state unemployment programs, increased slightly to 1.35 million for the week ended May 14 from 1.32 million a week earlier. They remain near the lowest level since 1969. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
Federal Reserve officials are steadily raising interest rates to curb high inflation. The interest-rate hikes are triggering stock-market turmoil as many investors increasingly fear a steep slowdown—or even recession—is imminent.
The rate increases could slow the pace of hiring in the coming months. The evidence thus far, though, suggests the labor market is running strong. Employers added 428,000 jobs in April, and the unemployment rate clocked in at 3.6%, just shy of its prepandemic level of 3.5%.
The number of job openings rose to 11.5 million in March, the highest since records began in 2000. The tight labor market has prompted workers to look for better opportunities. Roughly 4.5 million people quit their jobs in March.
Write to Sarah Chaney Cambon at sarah.chaney@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8