The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose modestly last week, while ongoing claims hit a 10-month high in late November, suggesting the labor market is slowly slowing. is doing.
Still, labor market conditions remain tight, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to continue raising interest rates in the fight against inflation. The labor market remained stable amid heightened recession risks brought on by the Fed’s aggressive monetary policy campaign.
“Overall, the labor market remains tight and demand for workers is strong,” said Rubila Faruqi, chief economist at US High Frequency Economics in White Plains, New York. “But the claims data shows a gradual reversal of layoffs. “Initial claims for state jobless benefits rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 230,000 in the week ended Dec. 3. Last week’s growth was in line with economists’ expectations.
Claims tend to be volatile at the start of the holiday season as companies temporarily close or slow hiring, which can make it difficult to get accurate information about the labor market. They shot to a three-month high in the week before Thanksgiving, only to nearly reverse the surge the following week.
Unadjusted claims rose by 87,113 to 286,436 last week, driven by big increases in California, New York, Georgia and Texas. Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington also saw significant increases.
While layoffs have increased in the tech sector, with Twitter, Amazon and Facebook parent Meta announcing thousands of job cuts in November, this has significantly dampened labor market dynamics. did not change.
The claims report also showed that the number of people receiving benefits after the first week of aid, a proxy for hiring, rose by 62,000 to 1.671 million in the week ended Nov. 26, the highest since February.
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