US applications for jobless claims fall to lowest level in 9 weeks
Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to hold up despite higher interest rates imposed by the Federal Reserve in its bid to curb inflation.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that unemployment claims for the week ending April 20 fell by 5,000 to 207,000 from 212,000 the previous week. That’s the fewest since mid-February.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out some of the weekly up-and-downs, ticked down by 1,250 to 213,250.
Weekly unemployment claims are considered a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week and a sign of where the job market is headed. They have remained at historically low levels since the pandemic purge of millions of jobs in the spring of 2020.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark borrowing rate 11 times beginning in March of 2022 in a bid to stifle the four-decade high inflation that took hold after the economy rebounded from the COVID-19 recession four years ago. The Fed’s intention was to loosen the labor market and slow wage growth, which it said contributed to persistently high inflation.
Related articles
Revealed: Brit tourist, 19, subjected to sex attack in Majorca 'was gang
A 19-year-old British tourist who was subjected to a horrific sex attack in Majorca 'was gang-raped2024-05-21China to expedite building modern eco
A staff member checks the operation of an automatic water testing system at Anhui CAS Intelligent En2024-05-21Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
DALLAS (AP) — After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, an2024-05-21Major coup for Victoria Beckham as one of her gowns appears at the Met Gala for the first time
Phoebe Dynevor gave Victoria Beckham her Met Gala debut as she channeled a classic English rose in a2024-05-21Liverpool confirms Arne Slot as Jurgen Klopp's replacement
Arne Slot will take on one of the most daunting challenges in soccer by replacing Jurgen Klopp as Li2024-05-21Xi chairs symposium on boosting development of China's western region in new era
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committ2024-05-21
atest comment