Current:Home > InvestUS applications for jobless benefits fall to lowest level in nearly 8 months-LoTradeCoin
US applications for jobless benefits fall to lowest level in nearly 8 months
View Date:2024-12-24 00:22:43
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in eight months last week as the labor market continues to show strength in the face of elevated interest rates.
U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 201,000 for the week ending Sept. 16, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the lowest figure since the last week of January.
Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.
The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell by 7,750 to 217,000.
Though the Federal Reserve opted to leave its benchmark borrowing rate alone this week, it is well into the second year of its battle to stamp out four-decade high inflation. The whopping 11 interest rate hikes since March of last year have helped to curb price growth, but the U.S. economy and labor market have held up better than most expected.
Earlier this month, the government reported that U.S. employers added a healthy 187,000 jobs in August. Though the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.8%, it’s still low by historical measures.
U.S. businesses have been adding an average of about 236,000 jobs per month this year, down from the pandemic surge of the previous two years, but still a strong number.
Recent government data also showed that job openings dropped to 8.8 million in July, the fewest since March 2021 and down from 9.2 million in June. However, those numbers remain unusually robust considering monthly job openings never topped 8 million before 2021.
Besides some layoffs early this year — mostly in the technology sector — companies have been trying to hold on to their employees.
Many businesses struggled to replenish their workforces after cutting jobs during the pandemic, and a sizable amount of the ongoing hiring likely reflects efforts by firms to catch up to elevated levels of consumer demand that emerged since the pandemic recession.
Overall, 1.66 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Sept. 9, about 21,000 fewer than the previous week.
veryGood! (387)
Related
- Today’s Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and More React to Craig Melvin Replacing Hoda Kotb as Co-Anchor
- Indiana gym house up for sale for $599,000 price tag
- Country star Jon Pardi explains why he 'retired' from drinking: 'I was so unhappy'
- Social media companies made $11 billion in ad revenue from kids and teens, study finds
- College Football Fix podcast addresses curious CFP rankings and previews Week 12
- Family’s deaths in wealthy Massachusetts town likely related to domestic violence, police say
- Third mistrial is declared in Nebraska double murder case, but prosecutors vow to try man again
- House where 4 Idaho students were slain is being demolished despite families' concerns
- Olivia Munn Randomly Drug Tests John Mulaney After Mini-Intervention
- Donald Trump insists his cameo made 'Home Alone 2' a success: 'I was, and still am, great'
Ranking
- The White Stripes drop lawsuit against Donald Trump over 'Seven Nation Army' use
- A Qatari court reduces death sentence handed to 8 retired Indian navy officers charged with spying
- Vikings tab rookie QB Jaren Hall to start Sunday night vs. Green Bay
- Perspective: Children born poor have little margin for mistakes or bad decisions, regardless of race
- King Charles III celebrates 76th birthday amid cancer battle, opens food hubs
- Authorities investigating 2 fatal police shootings this week in South Carolina
- US companies are picky about investing in China. The exceptions? Burgers and lattes
- US military space plane blasts off on another secretive mission expected to last years
Recommendation
-
Judge weighs the merits of a lawsuit alleging ‘Real Housewives’ creators abused a cast member
-
Woman sues dentist after 4 root canals, 8 dental crowns and 20 fillings in a single visit
-
Mikaela Shiffrin closes out 2023 with a huge victory for 93rd career win
-
Massive building fire temporarily shuts down interstate highway in Louisville, Kentucky
-
Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn’s SKIMS Holiday Pajamas Are Selling Out Fast—Here’s What’s Still Available
-
Tom Smothers, half of iconic Smothers Brothers musical comedy duo, dies at 86
-
Ruby Franke's former business partner Jodi Hildebrandt pleads guilty to child abuse
-
How rock-bottom prices drive shortages of generic drugs used in hospitals