Jobless claims are rising in the United States, but remain at a good level

Jobless claims are rising in the United States, but remain at a good level

The number of Americans who They applied for unemployment insurance It went up a bit last week, but it’s still at a good level.

The number of weekly claims increased by 4,000 to 232,000 in the week of August 17. Ministry of Labour. The four-week average, which smooths out the weekly ups and downs, fell by 750 to 236,000.

In the week ending August 10, 1.86 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits, up 4,000 from the previous week.

Weekly jobless claims, a test of layoffs, remain low by historical standards.

From January to May, the average minimum of applications was 213,000 per week. But they began to rise in May, reaching 250,000 by the end of July, proving that high interest rates are hurting the US labor market.

But the slight increase in claims this week comes after two straight weeks of declines, allaying concerns that the job market is deteriorating rapidly rather than simply slowing.

The Federal Reserve, which to fight inflation which reached a four-decade peak just over two years ago, raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023, bringing it to a 23-year high.

Inflation has been falling steadily – from 9.1% in June 2022 to a three-year low of 2.9% last month. Despite higher borrowing costs, the economy and hiring continued to improve, defying widespread fears that the US is headed for recession.

The economy weighs heavily on voters as they head to November’s presidential election. Despite a strong labor market and slowing inflation, Americans are still outraged that consumer prices are 19% higher than they were before inflation picked up in 2021.