The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits jumped last week, but not enough to raise concern about the consistently strong U.S. labor market.
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose by 21,000 to 248,000 for the week ending August 5, from 227,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most in five weeks.
The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile reading, ticked up by 2,750 to 228,250.
Jobless claim applications are viewed as broadly representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.
Applications for jobless aid reached a higher level above 260,000 for a few weeks this spring, causing some concern, but then retreated.
Troubling levels of inflation moved the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at a breakneck pace for the past year-and-a-half: the central bank raised its benchmark rate 11 times to the current 5.4%, a 22-year high.
Part of the Fed’s reasoning was to cool the job market and bring down wages, which, in theory, suppresses price growth. Though inflation has come down significantly during that stretch, the job market has remained remarkably strong.
Last week, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs in July, fewer than expected, but still a healthy number. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.5%, close to a half-century low.
Also last week, the government reported that job openings fell below 9.6 million in June, the lowest in more than two years. However, the numbers remain unusually robust considering monthly job openings never topped 8 million before 2021.
Outside of a flurry of layoffs in the technology sector early this year, companies have mostly been retaining workers.
Many businesses struggled to replenish their workforces after cutting jobs during the pandemic, and much of the ongoing hiring likely reflects efforts by many firms to catch up to elevated levels of consumer demand that have emerged since the pandemic recession.
While the manufacturing, warehousing, and retail industries have slowed their hiring in recent months, they aren’t yet cutting jobs in large numbers. Economists say that given the difficulties in finding workers during the past two years, businesses will likely hold onto them as long as possible, even if the economy weakens.
Overall, 1.68 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended July 29, about 8,000 fewer than the previous week.
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17 Comments
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dagon
Last week the headline was the low rate of unemployment, as the news highlighted health care workers staying unemployed as the health care conglomerates cut wages for them from pandemic levels.
But executive compensation and shareholder value will not fall, god forbid.
The usual Fed complicity in the machine of neo-feudalism.
zones2surf
Biden economics working just as planned.
Deprive 5he working class and force them to depend on the government.
While the connected elites prosper and the politicians and bureaucrats pocket money from corruption.
Led by The Big Man Himself, with his millions from Ukraine and #CCPChina!!
ArtistAtLarge
Still less than 4% unemployment.
This is amazing.
Peter Neil
Unemployment numbers are useless. They are a facade and relic from the Depression. Once people run out of unemployment benefits, they are dropped from the rolls. Anyone unemployed more than six months is not counted. After you are counted as unemployed, you cannot be counted again if you become unemployed again. There are plenty of people unemployed who are not collecting any unemployment benefits, which the "data" is solely based upon.
A nonsense metric.
Desert Tortoise
None of that is true. Regardless of whether or not one is collecting unemployment benefits, if someone is not working but actively looking for work they are counted in the unemployment statistics. If you get a job and are subsequently laid off you are again counted as unemployed.
EFD
Unemployment remains at a historic low in spite of rising wages and labor participation.
So yeas, Bidenomics working as planned.
Peter Neil
If a person works one hour per week, they are considered employed.
If you have exhausted 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, that's it. You can't get it again.
Millions are no longer seeking employment (discouraged workers) because of age discrimination.
Jobs available is a false number. Many job postings are never intended to be filled by the employer because of requirements to post the job when the position is being filled by an internal transfer or promotion. And to fill a database if they ever do want to hire.
The effective rate (it's called U6) is about double the U3 used by the news.
TokyoLiving
People needing jobs, homes, food, health assurance, etc..
But good old US keeps giving away millions of dollars to the Ukraine regime...
Thanks Joe, you're pathetic..
LET'S GO TRUMP TO END THIS PRO-UKRAINIAN CIRCUS!!
bass4funk
How so?
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/10/1186712393/for-the-second-consecutive-monthly-black-unemployment-has-increased
Someone didn't get the memo.
Jimizo
Overall, the US economy is in reasonable shape.
Certainly in better shape than the one Biden inherited.
That was a flaming wreck.
TaiwanIsNotChina
The increase in jobless is expected: it's called loosening up the supply chain.
cuddly
Quite interesting to hear from non-American leftist extremists.
A quick lesson-almost every minority group thrived as never before under Trump.
Black median income growth last year surpassed income growth rates under the Obama administration.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/11/01/donald-trump-african-american-black-economic-progress-vote-column/6081310002/
Desert Tortoise
While that may be true, as I said above if you are actively looking for work regardless of whether or not you are collecting unemployment benefits, you are still considered unemployed. Someone fired from their job for cause is usually ineligible to collect unemployment benefits but they are still counted as unemployed as long as they are seeking a new job.
If you get a new job and are laid off 52 or more weeks from when you filed for unemployment after losing the previous job, you can collect unemployment benefits. The benefit year lasts 52 weeks. You can collect unemployment benefits for 26 weeks of any benefit year. The benefit year begins when you first file for unemployment.
But as I said, even if your benefits expire after 26 weeks but you are still looking for work statistically you are still considered unemployed.
Desert Tortoise
Companies like Pilot are always and forever looking for new drivers. They grossly mistreat the drivers they have and they leave. I worked for many of their competitors and it is always the same story, they want you to work 12-14 hour shifts every day, pay you by the load and/or by the mile to force you hustle, then constantly look for any excuse to short you on your pay while typically offering no sick leave (in fact the dispatchers will berate you if you call in sick and maybe even say there is no work for you when you do come back to work just to punish you), no paid vacations, no paid holidays (and no overtime if you do work a holiday). So you burn out and leave. But the next tanker company is no better and there is an industry wide driver shortage.
Desert Tortoise
No. What is happening the past two years is an increase in workforce participation. People who had no jobs are moving back into the workforce. People see opportunities to work where a year or two ago they didn't. Workforce participation, meaning the percent of the working age population either working or actively looking for work has increased from 60% to 62% from 2021 to today.
Peter Neil
So 38% are unemployed, plus the portion of that 62% actively looking for work.
Oh my.
Desert Tortoise
Oh my the distortions. That 38% includes non working housewives, students, and the disabled who cannot work.