Jobless Claims Rose Last Week, but Remain Below Prepandemic Average
U.S. unemployment filings rose last week, but remain at historically low levels.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 in the week ended Dec. 17, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims have risen from the spring but remain low, suggesting that employers are holding on to workers despite concerns about an economic slowdown.
Last week’s claims number was below the 2019 weekly average of 218,000, when the labor market was also very strong. The four-week moving average of weekly claims, which smooths out volatility, decreased last week by 6,250 to a seasonally adjusted 221,750.
Continuing claims, which reflect the number of people seeking ongoing unemployment benefits, moved down by 6,000 to 1,672,000 in the week ended Dec. 10. Continuing claims, while still low, have slowly climbed since mid-September. That could be a sign that some unemployed people are taking longer to find new jobs.
Some big companies have announced layoffs in recent months as they grapple with the prospect of an economic slowdown and higher interest rates.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
is planning to lay off thousands of workers, The Wall Street Journal reported, after hiring aggressively in 2020 and 2021. Several technology companies such as
Amazon.com Inc.,
Meta Platforms Inc.,
Lyft Inc.
and Stripe Inc. have all announced job reductions in recent weeks.
Other industries are also cutting back.
Walmart Inc.,
PepsiCo Inc.
and
Ford Motor Co.
have all recently announced layoffs.
So far, layoffs haven’t led to a sharp rise in jobless claims numbers. Some of those recently laid off may not have filed an unemployment claim because they found new jobs relatively quickly. The number of available jobs in recent months continued to exceed the number of unemployed Americans seeking work.
Employers added 263,000 jobs in November, down slightly from the previous three months when they averaged 282,000 a month, the Labor Department said. Job growth has slowed from the first half of the year, a sign that employers are growing more cautious in an uncertain economic environment.
Employers are taking their time making job offers, said Greg Sulentic, owner and president of Express Employment Professionals, a staffing agency in Lincoln, Neb. That is a change from last year, when they were desperate to fill openings, he said.
“There is still a great deal of need for clients to hire but they are a little more selective, a little slower to bring candidates in,” he said.
Write to David Harrison at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
U.S. unemployment filings rose last week, but remain at historically low levels.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 in the week ended Dec. 17, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims have risen from the spring but remain low, suggesting that employers are holding on to workers despite concerns about an economic slowdown.
Last week’s claims number was below the 2019 weekly average of 218,000, when the labor market was also very strong. The four-week moving average of weekly claims, which smooths out volatility, decreased last week by 6,250 to a seasonally adjusted 221,750.
Continuing claims, which reflect the number of people seeking ongoing unemployment benefits, moved down by 6,000 to 1,672,000 in the week ended Dec. 10. Continuing claims, while still low, have slowly climbed since mid-September. That could be a sign that some unemployed people are taking longer to find new jobs.
Some big companies have announced layoffs in recent months as they grapple with the prospect of an economic slowdown and higher interest rates.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
is planning to lay off thousands of workers, The Wall Street Journal reported, after hiring aggressively in 2020 and 2021. Several technology companies such as
Amazon.com Inc.,
Meta Platforms Inc.,
Lyft Inc.
and Stripe Inc. have all announced job reductions in recent weeks.
Other industries are also cutting back.
Walmart Inc.,
PepsiCo Inc.
and
Ford Motor Co.
have all recently announced layoffs.
So far, layoffs haven’t led to a sharp rise in jobless claims numbers. Some of those recently laid off may not have filed an unemployment claim because they found new jobs relatively quickly. The number of available jobs in recent months continued to exceed the number of unemployed Americans seeking work.
Employers added 263,000 jobs in November, down slightly from the previous three months when they averaged 282,000 a month, the Labor Department said. Job growth has slowed from the first half of the year, a sign that employers are growing more cautious in an uncertain economic environment.
Employers are taking their time making job offers, said Greg Sulentic, owner and president of Express Employment Professionals, a staffing agency in Lincoln, Neb. That is a change from last year, when they were desperate to fill openings, he said.
“There is still a great deal of need for clients to hire but they are a little more selective, a little slower to bring candidates in,” he said.
Write to David Harrison at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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