The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits last week inched up but largely stayed at historically low levels as the labor market continues to thrive despite elevated interest rates. The Labor Department reported Thursday that filings for unemployment claims for the week ending March 9 ticked down by 1,000 to 209,000 from the previous week’s 208,000.
Quick Read
- Last week’s applications for jobless benefits in the U.S. saw a minor adjustment, maintaining their position at historically low levels, indicative of a robust labor market despite the challenges posed by high interest rates.
- The Labor Department’s latest report highlighted a slight decrease in unemployment claims for the week ending March 9, with the figures dropping by 1,000 to 209,000 from the prior week’s count of 208,000.
- The more stable four-week moving average of claims also showed a minimal reduction, decreasing by 500 to reach 208,000, further underscoring the stability in the labor market.
- The total number of Americans receiving jobless benefits as of the week ending March 2 rose slightly by 17,000, reaching 1.81 million, even as the numbers from the week before were revised downwards by 112,000.
- Weekly unemployment claims serve as a key indicator of U.S. layoffs, and their sustained low levels since the massive job losses in early 2020 due to the pandemic continue to signal strength in the labor market.
The Associated Press has the story:
Number of Americans filing for jobless benefits remains low as labor market continues to thrive
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP)
The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits last week inched up but largely stayed at historically low levels as the labor market continues to thrive despite elevated interest rates.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that filings for unemployment claims for the week ending March 9 ticked down by 1,000 to 209,000 from the previous week’s 208,000.
The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, came in at 208,000, a decrease of 500 from the previous week.
In total, 1.81 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended March 2, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week. Last week’s number, which had been the most since November, was revised down by 112,000.
Weekly unemployment claims are considered a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week. They have remained at historically low levels since the pandemic purge of millions of jobs in the spring of 2020.
