U.S. worker filings for jobless benefits fell last week, a sign layoffs remain low in a tight labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, decreased to a seasonally adjusted 214,000 last week from 226,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims are up from earlier this year but remain near their prepandemic 2019 weekly average of 218,000, when the labor market was also historically strong.
The four-week moving average for jobless claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, rose slightly to 212,250 last week.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people seeking ongoing unemployment benefits, increased to 1.39 million in the week ended Oct. 8 from 1.36 million a week earlier. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
The overall U.S. jobs market remains on strong footing, but has cooled in recent months. Employers added 263,000 jobs in September, a slowdown from earlier in the year, while the share of people working or looking for a job fell. Job openings declined in August to their lowest level since summer of 2021. But many businesses have continued to hire, citing struggles with staffing shortages.
Parts of the U.S. economy are showing signs of slowing in response to the Federal Reserve aggressively lifting its benchmark interest rate in an effort to tame inflation that is running near 40-year highs.
The interest-rate-sensitive housing sector has slowed sharply this year due to higher construction costs and mortgage rates that make it more expensive to build and buy property. Housing starts fell 8.1% in September from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.44 million, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Some corporate leaders are warning of an economic downturn.
Amazon.com Inc.
founder
Jeff Bezos
earlier this week said the economy was flashing warning signs.
Microsoft Corp.
earlier this week laid off more employees.
Write to Sarah Chaney Cambon at sarah.chaney@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
U.S. worker filings for jobless benefits fell last week, a sign layoffs remain low in a tight labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, decreased to a seasonally adjusted 214,000 last week from 226,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims are up from earlier this year but remain near their prepandemic 2019 weekly average of 218,000, when the labor market was also historically strong.
The four-week moving average for jobless claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, rose slightly to 212,250 last week.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people seeking ongoing unemployment benefits, increased to 1.39 million in the week ended Oct. 8 from 1.36 million a week earlier. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
The overall U.S. jobs market remains on strong footing, but has cooled in recent months. Employers added 263,000 jobs in September, a slowdown from earlier in the year, while the share of people working or looking for a job fell. Job openings declined in August to their lowest level since summer of 2021. But many businesses have continued to hire, citing struggles with staffing shortages.
Parts of the U.S. economy are showing signs of slowing in response to the Federal Reserve aggressively lifting its benchmark interest rate in an effort to tame inflation that is running near 40-year highs.
The interest-rate-sensitive housing sector has slowed sharply this year due to higher construction costs and mortgage rates that make it more expensive to build and buy property. Housing starts fell 8.1% in September from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.44 million, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Some corporate leaders are warning of an economic downturn.
Amazon.com Inc.
founder
Jeff Bezos
earlier this week said the economy was flashing warning signs.
Microsoft Corp.
earlier this week laid off more employees.
Write to Sarah Chaney Cambon at sarah.chaney@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8