Jobless Claims Remained Nearly Steady Last Week
Worker filings for unemployment benefits held nearly steady last week and remained historically low, a sign of continued tightness in the labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, decreased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Weekly claims have remained below the 2019 prepandemic average of about 220,000 since the start of the year.
The four week moving average of weekly claims, which smooths out volatility, rose slightly to 189,500.
Initial claims have held at low levels in recent months, despite the recent wave of layoffs in technology, finance and other industries. That could be because workers are finding new jobs quickly in a labor market where demand for labor exceeds available workers.
Employers in a range of industries, particularly in hospitality and healthcare, continue to hire at a rapid clip. U.S. payrolls grew by 517,000 in January, the biggest gain since July 2022.
Other recent economic indicators point to an economy that shows few signs of slowing down. Retail sales rose 3% in January from the prior month as consumers took advantage of strong hiring and wage growth to splurge. Manufacturing output also rose 1% last month, partly offsetting two months of declines, according to the Federal Reserve.
Inflation continued to ease, but it remains elevated and well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Fed officials have raised interest rates aggressively since last March to cool the economy and slow price increases.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of ongoing unemployment benefits payments increased by 16,000 to 1.7 million in the week ended Feb. 4. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
Write to David Harrison at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Worker filings for unemployment benefits held nearly steady last week and remained historically low, a sign of continued tightness in the labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, decreased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Weekly claims have remained below the 2019 prepandemic average of about 220,000 since the start of the year.
The four week moving average of weekly claims, which smooths out volatility, rose slightly to 189,500.
Initial claims have held at low levels in recent months, despite the recent wave of layoffs in technology, finance and other industries. That could be because workers are finding new jobs quickly in a labor market where demand for labor exceeds available workers.
Employers in a range of industries, particularly in hospitality and healthcare, continue to hire at a rapid clip. U.S. payrolls grew by 517,000 in January, the biggest gain since July 2022.
Other recent economic indicators point to an economy that shows few signs of slowing down. Retail sales rose 3% in January from the prior month as consumers took advantage of strong hiring and wage growth to splurge. Manufacturing output also rose 1% last month, partly offsetting two months of declines, according to the Federal Reserve.
Inflation continued to ease, but it remains elevated and well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Fed officials have raised interest rates aggressively since last March to cool the economy and slow price increases.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of ongoing unemployment benefits payments increased by 16,000 to 1.7 million in the week ended Feb. 4. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
Write to David Harrison at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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