U.S. Jobless Claims Jumped More Than 10% Last Week
Worker filings for U.S. unemployment benefits jumped more than 10% last week but remained historically low as demand for labor outstrips the number of people looking for work.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average of weekly claims, which smooths out volatility in the weekly numbers, rose slightly to 197,000.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated jobless claims rose slightly to 195,000 last week.
Weekly jobless claims have remained near or below the 2019 prepandemic average of about 220,000 for several months, despite job cuts at large employers in white-collar industries such as technology, finance and real estate.
Satellite-radio company
Sirius XM Holdings Inc.
said in a letter to employees this week that it is reducing its head count by 8%, or 475 roles, and General Motors Co. confirmed last week that it is laying off salaried employees.
Those layoffs haven’t translated into an uptick in unemployment figures because workers could be quickly finding new jobs or might not be seeking assistance due to generous severance packages.
There were 10.8 million job openings in January, the Labor Department said this week, and employers added more than half a million jobs that month while the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, its lowest level since 1969.
Openings in January dropped from December’s 11.2 million, coinciding with some private-sector data showing early signs of demand for U.S. workers cooling.
The Labor Department will release its February jobs report Friday, offering a broad update on the state of the labor market.
“It’s definitely a very tight labor market and since a lot of firms struggled so much to find workers, they’re more likely just to cut their hours than lay them off to cut back on labor costs,” said Giacomo Santangelo, an economist at jobs site Monster.com.
Other measures indicate that the U.S. economy had momentum in the beginning of the year, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to accelerate interest-rate increases as it combats inflation. Consumer spending jumped in January and U.S. business activity picked up in February.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of ongoing unemployment-benefits payments, increased by 69,000 to 1.72 million in the week ended Feb. 25. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
The level of insured unemployment is somewhat elevated from a low point of about 1.3 million last spring. Modestly elevated continuing claims could be a sign some beneficiaries are taking longer to find new jobs.
Write to Bryan Mena at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Worker filings for U.S. unemployment benefits jumped more than 10% last week but remained historically low as demand for labor outstrips the number of people looking for work.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased by 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average of weekly claims, which smooths out volatility in the weekly numbers, rose slightly to 197,000.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated jobless claims rose slightly to 195,000 last week.
Weekly jobless claims have remained near or below the 2019 prepandemic average of about 220,000 for several months, despite job cuts at large employers in white-collar industries such as technology, finance and real estate.
Satellite-radio company
Sirius XM Holdings Inc.
said in a letter to employees this week that it is reducing its head count by 8%, or 475 roles, and General Motors Co. confirmed last week that it is laying off salaried employees.
Those layoffs haven’t translated into an uptick in unemployment figures because workers could be quickly finding new jobs or might not be seeking assistance due to generous severance packages.
There were 10.8 million job openings in January, the Labor Department said this week, and employers added more than half a million jobs that month while the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, its lowest level since 1969.
Openings in January dropped from December’s 11.2 million, coinciding with some private-sector data showing early signs of demand for U.S. workers cooling.
The Labor Department will release its February jobs report Friday, offering a broad update on the state of the labor market.
“It’s definitely a very tight labor market and since a lot of firms struggled so much to find workers, they’re more likely just to cut their hours than lay them off to cut back on labor costs,” said Giacomo Santangelo, an economist at jobs site Monster.com.
Other measures indicate that the U.S. economy had momentum in the beginning of the year, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to accelerate interest-rate increases as it combats inflation. Consumer spending jumped in January and U.S. business activity picked up in February.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of ongoing unemployment-benefits payments, increased by 69,000 to 1.72 million in the week ended Feb. 25. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
The level of insured unemployment is somewhat elevated from a low point of about 1.3 million last spring. Modestly elevated continuing claims could be a sign some beneficiaries are taking longer to find new jobs.
Write to Bryan Mena at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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