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
Police search Brussels office of prominent far
BERLIN (AP) — Authorities were searching the European Parliament office of a prominent German far-ri2024-05-07Pulisic and McKennie face each other as rivals in Italy before joining forces again for US
Weston McKennie thought back to when he first met Christian Pulisic, a pair of 13-year-olds on a bus2024-05-07EU, G7 leaders urge preventing escalation in Mideast
BRUSSELS/ROME, April 14 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) and Group of Seven (G7) leaders on Sunday ca2024-05-07Princess Martha Louise has pre
Princess Martha Louise of Norway has furiously hit back at her future mother-in-law's claims that Du2024-05-07Happy birthday Archie! As the young royal turns five today
When he was born a week overdue at an exclusive London hospital five years ago today, he was, accord2024-05-07Former shoemaker admits he had an illegal gambling operation in his Brooklyn shop
NEW YORK (AP) — A former shoemaker pleaded guilty Tuesday to allegations that he ran an illegal gamb2024-05-07
atest comment