The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits remained steady last week, although continuing claims reached the highest level in three years.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of jobless claims filed for the week of Dec. 21 fell by 1,000 to 219,000. That’s less than analysts’ forecast of 223,000.
Continuing with the claims, the total number of Americans receiving jobless benefits rose by 46,000 to 1.91 million the week of December 14. This exceeded analysts’ estimates and was the highest since the week of November 13, 2021 when the labor market was still recovering. COVID-19 wiped out jobs in the spring of 2020.
The rising level of continued claims suggests that people receiving benefits are having difficulty finding new jobs. This could mean that demand for workers is falling even though the economy is strong.
The four-week average of weekly claims, which smooths out some week-to-week volatility, rose by 1,000 to 226,500.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of US layoffs.
The labor market has shown some signs of softening recently, but remains broadly healthy and has been better than many economists predicted, given that interest rates have remained elevated for years.
The Federal Reserve has launched a series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 to try to control four-decade-high inflation that has emerged as the US economy recovers from a brief but sharp pandemic recession.
The Fed cut its benchmark interest rate last week for the third time in a row Largely in response to declining inflation, however, it remains above the central bank’s 2% target. The Fed surprised the market when it forecast only two rate cuts in 2025, down from a previous forecast of four.
Earlier this month, the government reported that US job vacancies increased to 7.7 million in October That’s up from a 3 1/2-year low of 7.4 million in September, a sign that businesses are still looking for workers even though hiring has slowed.
In November, American employers 227,000 jobs addedThat’s up from just 36,000 in October, when employers’ wages fell sharply due to strikes and the impact of hurricanes. The government revised its estimate for job growth in September and October to a combined 56,000.
The government’s December jobs report comes out on January 10.
