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Tag: Jobless claims

  • Jobless claims climb to 245,000 and signal slight cooling in hot labor market

    Jobless claims climb to 245,000 and signal slight cooling in hot labor market

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    The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose by 5,000 to 245,000 and pointed to a small erosion in a robust U.S. labor market.

    New jobless claims increased from a revised 240,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The figures are seasonally adjusted.

    The number of people applying for unemployment benefits is one of the best barometers of whether the economy is getting better or worse.

    New jobless claims are still very low, but they have risen from less than 200,000 in January in a sign the labor market has cooled slightly as higher interest rates dampen U.S. growth.

    Key details: Thirty-five of the 53 U.S. states and territories that report jobless claims showed a decrease last week. Eighteen posted an increase.

    Most of the increase in new jobless claims were in New York, where new filings typically rise during school breaks and fall immediately afterward.

    Other states reported little change.

    The number of people collecting unemployment benefits in the U.S., meanwhile, jumped by 61,000 to 1.87 million in the week ended April 8. That’s the highest level since November 2021.

    The gradual increase in these so-called continuing claims suggests it’s taking longer for people who lose their jobs to find new ones.

    Big picture: Wall Street is watching jobless benefits closely because it’s one of the first indicators to start blinking red when the U.S. is headed toward recession.

    New jobless claims have crept higher this year after touching a 54-year low, pointing to some cooling in a hot labor market. But the labor market is still quite strong

    The Federal Reserve wants the labor market to cool even further to temper a sharp increase in wages and help the bank combat high inflation. A series of interest-rate increases by the central bank have slowed the economy and eventually should curb the appetite for workers.

    Looking ahead: “With talk of deteriorating economic conditions and in the wake of the recent bank failures, businesses may turn more cautious in their hiring practices,” said senior economic advisor Stuart Hoffman of PNC Financial Services.

    “Our view remains that layoffs will rise less dramatically than normally might occur as companies do all they can to avoid shedding workers who have been incredibly difficult to recruit and retain,” said chief economist Joshua Shapiro of MFR Inc.

    Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    -0.44%
    and S&P 500
    SPX,
    -0.60%
    were set to open lower in Thursday trades.

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  • New jobless claims fell last week, but still higher than expected

    New jobless claims fell last week, but still higher than expected

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    New jobless claims fell last week, but still higher than expected – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    The latest jobless claims report reveals first-time filings fell by 18,000 to 228,000 for the week ending April 1. CBS News’ Errol Barnett and Lana Zak are joined by Axios economics reporter Courtenay Brown with more on the findings.

    Be the first to know

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  • Jobless claims touch 228,000 and look worse after change in seasonal adjustments

    Jobless claims touch 228,000 and look worse after change in seasonal adjustments

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    The numbers: The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits has topped 200,000 for nine weeks in a row and looks worse than previously reported, based on a change in how the government adjusts for seasonal swings in employment.

    The newly revised data suggest the labor market has softened more than it had appeared.

    In the seven days…

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  • Jobless claims dip to 3-week low of 191,000 — labor market still very strong

    Jobless claims dip to 3-week low of 191,000 — labor market still very strong

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    The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week slipped to a three-week low of 191,000, signaling little erosion in a strong U.S. labor market even as the economy faced fresh strains.

    New U.S. applications for benefits fell by 1,000 from 192,000 in the prior week, the government said Thursday. .

    The number of people applying for jobless benefits is one of the best barometers of whether the economy is getting better or worse. New unemployment applications remain near historically low levels.

    Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total 198,000 in the seven days ended March 18. The numbers are seasonally adjusted.

    Key details: Twenty-eight of the 53 U.S. states and territories that report jobless claims showed a decrease last week. Twenty-five posted an increase.

    Most of the changes were small except in Indiana.

    One potential red flag: The number of raw or actual claims — before seasonal adjustments — was much higher last week compared to the same week a year earlier. But so far there’s little sign of a trend.

    “Even the tens of thousands of recent [high-tech] layoffs have almost completely been absorbed by a powerful labor market that has plenty of expansion left in it,” contended Robert Frick, chief corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.

    The number of people collecting unemployment benefits across the country, meanwhile, rose by 14,000 to 1.69 million in the week ended March 11. That number is reported with a one-week lag.

    These continuing claims are still low, but a gradual increase since last year suggests it’s taking longer for people who lose their jobs to find new ones.

    Big picture: Jobless benefit claims are one of the first indicators to emit danger signals when the U.S. is headed toward recession. It’s still not flashing a red-light, or even a yellow one, as the economy comes under more duress.

    The Federal Reserve, for instance, just raised interest rates to a nearly 16-year high. And the failure of Silicon Valley Bank has put more stress on the U.S. financial system.

    Both of these actions could constrain the economy in the months ahead, curb hiring and potentially boost a low unemployment rate. If so, watch the trend in new jobless claims.

    Looking ahead: “Most companies are either still hiring or are holding onto their employees and seeking other ways to cut costs,” said chief economist Joshua Shapiro of MFR Inc.

    “This is consistent with our view that layoffs will rise less dramatically than normally might occur as companies do all they can to avoid shedding workers who have been incredibly difficult to recruit and retain.”

    Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    +0.23%
    and S&P 500
    SPX,
    +0.30%
    were set to open higher in Thursday trades. Stocks have been under pressure since the failure of SVB earlier this month.

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  • Jobless claims jump to 211,000, the highest since Christmas. Blame New York.

    Jobless claims jump to 211,000, the highest since Christmas. Blame New York.

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    The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in early March jumped to a 10-week high of 211,000. Yet most of the increase was concentrated in New York and might not signal a broader cooling-off trend in the U.S. labor market.

    New U.S. applications for benefits rose 21,000 from 190,000 in the prior week, the government said Thursday. The numbers are seasonally adjusted.

    It’s the first time in eight weeks claims have topped the 200,000 mark.

    An unusually big increase took place in New York. Raw or actual unemployment applications in the state jumped to 30,241 from 13,878 in the prior week.

    Chief economist Stephen Stanley of Santander U.S. Capital Markets said school workers in New York City are allowed by contract to apply for benefits during winter and spring breaks.

    Asked about the upsurge, a government spokesperson said by email that “the New York State Department of Labor cannot speculate on the increase.”

    California also posted a sizable pickup, perhaps a sign that the recent spate of major corporate layoffs are starting to bite. A number of large tech firms have announced job cuts since last fall.

    The number of people applying for jobless benefits is one of the best barometers of whether the economy is getting better or worse. New unemployment applications remain near historically low levels, however.

    Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total 195,000 in the seven days ending March 3.

    Key details: Thirty-seven of the 53 U.S. states and territories that report jobless claims showed an increase last week. Seventeen posted a decline.

    Most states aside from New York and California reported little change.

    The number of people collecting unemployment benefits across the country, meanwhile, rose by 69,000 to a two-month high of 1.72 million in the week ending Feb. 25. That number is reported with a one-week lag.

    These continuing claims are still low, but a gradual increase since last spring suggests it’s taking longer for people who lose their jobs to find new ones.

    Big picture: Jobless claims are one of the first indicators to emit danger signals when the U.S. is headed toward recession.

    So far, jobless claims remain remarkably low and the economy is still adding plenty of jobs. Economists estimate that the U.S. gained 225,000 new jobs in February.

    Economists expect hiring to slow and layoffs to increase later in the year, however, as rising interest rates restrain the economy and reduce demand for workers. A number of large companies, especially in tech, media and finance, have already announced job cuts.

    Looking ahead: “Absent [New York], the count would likely have been below 200,000 yet again,” Stanley of Santander said.

    “Broadly, initial jobless claims have remained remarkably low despite the flurry of layoff announcements in recent months, underscoring that the labor market retains considerable momentum.”

    Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    -1.66%
    and S&P 500
    SPX,
    -1.85%
    rose in Thursday trades.

    Wall Street is hoping for signs of cooling in the labor market, which would discourage the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates more aggressively. The Fed is raising rates to snuff out inflation and reduce upward pressure on wages.

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  • U.S. stocks close sharply higher in year-end rally after jobless claims data deemed ‘welcome news for the Fed’

    U.S. stocks close sharply higher in year-end rally after jobless claims data deemed ‘welcome news for the Fed’

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    U.S. stock indexes finished sharply higher on Thursday, the second-to-last trading session of the year, with the Nasdaq Composite jumping 2.6%, erasing losses from earlier in the week.

    The three main indexes built on premarket gains after U.S. weekly jobless claims data showed the number of workers receiving benefits has climbed to the highest level since February, a tentative sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes might be slowing economic growth and inflation.

    How stocks traded
    • The S&P 500
      SPX,
      +1.75%
      rose 66.06 points, or 1.8%, to end at 3,849.28.

    • Dow Jones Industrial Average
      DJIA,
      +1.05%
      added 345.09 points, or 1.1%, finishing at 33,220.80.

    • Nasdaq Composite
      COMP,
      +2.59%
      climbed 264.80 points, or 2.6%, to finish at 10,478.09.

    On Wednesday, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4% to 10,213, its lowest closing level of the year. The S&P 500 is up more than 6% from its 2022 low from mid-October, but the large-cap index remains down 19.2% year-to-date, FactSet data show.

    What drove markets

    The penultimate session of 2022 showed tentative signs of delivering some much needed festive cheer for the stock market as a hope for “Santa Claus rally” had earlier failed to materialize.

    MarketWatch Live: Is that you, Santa Claus?

    Stocks advanced on Thursday as data showed the number of Americans receiving more than a single week of unemployment benefits had climbed by 41,000 last week to 1.71 million, the highest level in 10 months.

    The jobless-claims data “points to a loosening in the labor market, which is welcome news for the Fed,” said Larry Adam, chief investment officer at Raymond James, in a tweet.

    However, analysts at Citi still think the claims data indicates a still-very-tight labor markets compared to historical levels.

    “While both initial and continuing claims increased this week, they remain within the levels of late 2019,” wrote Gisela Hoxha, U.S. economics research analyst at Citi. “Anecdotes of company layoffs have increased in recent months, particularly in the tech sector. While it could be hard to disentangle the seasonal effects from the announced layoffs, in our view there is no significant evidence of them showing up in the claims data yet.”

    Some of those layoffs could be taking effect a couple months later as employees might be kept on payroll for some time after the announcement, which will become significant signs of weakness in the labor market in 2023, Hoxha added.

    See: Did 2022 break Wall Street’s ‘fear gauge’? Why the VIX no longer reflects the sorry state of the stock market

    Stocks were on track to finish what’s set to be the worst year since 2008 not far from 2022 lows. The S&P 500’s 52-week closing low at 3,577.03 was hit on Oct. 12.

    Still, the three indexes managed to erase losses from earlier in the week on Thursday. Nasdaq Composite was down 0.2% this week, while the S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Dow was nearly flat as of Thursday’s close. If the S&P 500 can hold on to weekly gains through Friday, it would mark the end of a three-week losing streak that has been the index’s longest since September, FactSet data show.

    Companies in focus
    • Tesla Inc.
      TSLA,
      +8.08%
      shares finished 8.1% higher on Thursday after posting its first rise in eight sessions Wednesday. The electric-vehicle maker’s shares had declined in seven consecutive sessions, their worst losing streak since a seven-session run that ended on Sept. 15, 2018.

    • Southwest Airlines 
      LUV,
      +3.70%
      remains in focus as the airline tries to recover from logistical issues that caused thousands of flight cancellations over the past week. The stock fell 11% over the past two days, but rose 3.7% in Thursday session.

    • General Electric’s 
      GE,
      +2.17%
      spinoff of GE HealthCare Technologies will join the S&P 500 index when it begins trading as a separate public company on Jan. 4. GE HealthCare will replace Vornado Realty Trust 
      VNO,
      +1.63%      ,
      which will move to the S&P MidCap 400. Vornado will replace logistics company RXO
      RXO,
      +8.39%      ,
      which will move to the S&P SmallCap 600. GE HealthCare — trading on a when-issued basis — rose 0.9%, while Vornado gained 1.6% and RXO jumped 8.4%.

    • Cal-Maine 
      CALM,
      -14.50%
      shares ended 14.5% lower after its quarterly earnings came in below Wall Street forecasts. Cal-Maine reported record sales for the quarter as an avian flu outbreak continued to limit the supply of eggs, driving prices sharply higher. The company also said there were no positive tests for avian flu at any of its production facilities, as of Wednesday.

    — Jamie Chisholm contributed to this article

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  • U.S. stocks close sharply higher in year-end rally after jobless claims data deemed ‘welcome news for the Fed’

    U.S. stocks close sharply higher in year-end rally after jobless claims data deemed ‘welcome news for the Fed’

    [ad_1]

    U.S. stock indexes finished sharply higher on Thursday, the second-to-last trading session of the year, with the Nasdaq Composite jumping 2.6%, erasing losses from earlier in the week.

    The three main indexes built on premarket gains after U.S. weekly jobless claims data showed the number of workers receiving benefits has climbed to the highest level since February, a tentative sign that the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes might be slowing economic growth and inflation.

    How stocks traded
    • The S&P 500
      SPX,
      +1.75%
      rose 66.06 points, or 1.8%, to end at 3,849.28.

    • Dow Jones Industrial Average
      DJIA,
      +1.05%
      added 345.09 points, or 1.1%, finishing at 33,220.80.

    • Nasdaq Composite
      COMP,
      +2.59%
      climbed 264.80 points, or 2.6%, to finish at 10,478.09.

    On Wednesday, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4% to 10,213, its lowest closing level of the year. The S&P 500 is up more than 6% from its 2022 low from mid-October, but the large-cap index remains down 19.2% year-to-date, FactSet data show.

    What drove markets

    The penultimate session of 2022 showed tentative signs of delivering some much needed festive cheer for the stock market as a hope for “Santa Claus rally” had earlier failed to materialize.

    MarketWatch Live: Is that you, Santa Claus?

    Stocks advanced on Thursday as data showed the number of Americans receiving more than a single week of unemployment benefits had climbed by 41,000 last week to 1.71 million, the highest level in 10 months.

    The jobless-claims data “points to a loosening in the labor market, which is welcome news for the Fed,” said Larry Adam, chief investment officer at Raymond James, in a tweet.

    However, analysts at Citi still think the claims data indicates a still-very-tight labor markets compared to historical levels.

    “While both initial and continuing claims increased this week, they remain within the levels of late 2019,” wrote Gisela Hoxha, U.S. economics research analyst at Citi. “Anecdotes of company layoffs have increased in recent months, particularly in the tech sector. While it could be hard to disentangle the seasonal effects from the announced layoffs, in our view there is no significant evidence of them showing up in the claims data yet.”

    Some of those layoffs could be taking effect a couple months later as employees might be kept on payroll for some time after the announcement, which will become significant signs of weakness in the labor market in 2023, Hoxha added.

    See: Did 2022 break Wall Street’s ‘fear gauge’? Why the VIX no longer reflects the sorry state of the stock market

    Stocks were on track to finish what’s set to be the worst year since 2008 not far from 2022 lows. The S&P 500’s 52-week closing low at 3,577.03 was hit on Oct. 12.

    Still, the three indexes managed to erase losses from earlier in the week on Thursday. Nasdaq Composite was down 0.2% this week, while the S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Dow was nearly flat as of Thursday’s close. If the S&P 500 can hold on to weekly gains through Friday, it would mark the end of a three-week losing streak that has been the index’s longest since September, FactSet data show.

    Companies in focus
    • Tesla Inc.
      TSLA,
      +8.08%
      shares finished 8.1% higher on Thursday after posting its first rise in eight sessions Wednesday. The electric-vehicle maker’s shares had declined in seven consecutive sessions, their worst losing streak since a seven-session run that ended on Sept. 15, 2018.

    • Southwest Airlines 
      LUV,
      +3.70%
      remains in focus as the airline tries to recover from logistical issues that caused thousands of flight cancellations over the past week. The stock fell 11% over the past two days, but rose 3.7% in Thursday session.

    • General Electric’s 
      GE,
      +2.17%
      spinoff of GE HealthCare Technologies will join the S&P 500 index when it begins trading as a separate public company on Jan. 4. GE HealthCare will replace Vornado Realty Trust 
      VNO,
      +1.63%      ,
      which will move to the S&P MidCap 400. Vornado will replace logistics company RXO
      RXO,
      +8.39%      ,
      which will move to the S&P SmallCap 600. GE HealthCare — trading on a when-issued basis — rose 0.9%, while Vornado gained 1.6% and RXO jumped 8.4%.

    • Cal-Maine 
      CALM,
      -14.50%
      shares ended 14.5% lower after its quarterly earnings came in below Wall Street forecasts. Cal-Maine reported record sales for the quarter as an avian flu outbreak continued to limit the supply of eggs, driving prices sharply higher. The company also said there were no positive tests for avian flu at any of its production facilities, as of Wednesday.

    — Jamie Chisholm contributed to this article

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  • Jobless claims drop to 11-week low of 211,000 in early December

    Jobless claims drop to 11-week low of 211,000 in early December

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    The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in early December fell to a nearly three-month low of 211,000, indicating layoffs around the holiday season remain low even as the economy softens.

    New unemployment filings declined by 20,000 from 231,000 in the prior week, the government said Thursday.

    Economists…

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  • U.S. jobless claims climb to 230,000 in sign labor market is slowly cooling off

    U.S. jobless claims climb to 230,000 in sign labor market is slowly cooling off

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    The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in early December rose slightly to 230,000, pointing to a slow but steady increase in layoffs as the U.S. economy slows.

    Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total 230,000 in the seven days ended Dec 3. The figures are seasonally adjusted.

    The number of people applying for jobless benefits is one of the best barometers of whether the economy is getting better or worse. New unemployment filings have gradually risen from a 54-year low of 166,000 last spring , but they are still extremely low.

    Economists predict layoffs will rise, however, as rising interest rates orchestrated by the Federal Reserve choke off U.S. growth. The tech sector has already suffered a wave of layoffs and manufacturers are also scaling back.

    Big picture: The strongest U.S labor market in decades has now become a double-edged sword.

    Rising wages and low unemployment have allowed Americans to meet their needs and spend enough to keep the economy growing.

    Yet the fastest wage growth in four decades is now adding to high U.S. inflation and putting more pressure on the Fed to get prices back under control.

    The Fed could tip the economy into recession if it raises rates high enough to cool off a hot labor market.

    Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA,
    +0.00%
    and S&P 500
    SPX,
    -0.19%
    were set to rise in Thursday trades.

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  • Applications for jobless benefits decline last week

    Applications for jobless benefits decline last week

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    WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits came back down last week, hovering near levels suggesting the U.S. labor market has been largely unaffected by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes.

    Applications for jobless aid fell to 225,000 for the week ending Nov. 26, a decline of 16,000 from the previous week’s 241,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out week-to-week swings, inched up by 1,750 to 227,000.

    Applications for unemployment benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and viewed with other employment data, shows that American workers are enjoying extraordinary job security at the moment, despite an economy with some glaring weaknesses.

    To combat inflation that hit four-decade highs earlier this year, the Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate six times since March. The housing market has buckled under the strain of mortgage rates that have more than doubled from a year ago. Many economists expect the United States to slip into a recession next year with more Fed rate hikes expected to increase borrowing costs and slow economic activity.

    Early this month, the Fed raised its short-term lending rate by another 0.75 percentage points, three times its usual margin, for a fourth time this year. Its key rate now stands in a range of 3.75% to 4%, the highest in 15 years.

    On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank would push interest rates higher than previously expected and keep them there for an extended period until inflation was under control. Powell did add that the size and pace of those increases could be scaled back from the jumbo three-quarters of a point increases the Fed made at its last four meetings.

    In spite of persistent inflation and rapidly rising interest rates, U.S. employers added 261,000 jobs last month and are creating an average of nearly 407,000 a month this year. That pace would make 2022 the second-best year for hiring — after 2021 — in government records going back to 1940. There are nearly two job openings for every unemployed American. The unemployment rate is 3.7%, a couple of ticks above a half-century low.

    The government issues its November jobs report on Friday.

    New weekly applications for unemployment benefits have been extremely low early this year — staying below 200,000 for much of February, March and April. They began to tick up in late spring and hit 261,000 in mid-July before trending lower again.

    The Labor Department said Thursday that 1.61 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended Nov. 19, up 57,000 from the week before.

    The tech and real estate sectors have been outliers in an otherwise robust employment market, with Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, DoorDash, Redfin and Compass all announcing significant layoffs in recent months.

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  • Unemployment claims rise to 240,000, highest since August

    Unemployment claims rise to 240,000, highest since August

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    The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level since August, although it remains low by historic standards.

    Some 240,000 people applied for jobless aid last week, up by 17,000 from the week before, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, rose by 5,500 to 226,750.

    Applications for unemployment benefits are a proxy for layoffs. While job cuts remain low by historic levels, that may change as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to cool inflation.

    The Fed has already raised its benchmark interest rate six times since March, dragging down stock valuations and leading the housing market to buckle under the strain of mortgage rates that have doubled from a year ago. Many economists expect the United States to slip into a recession next year as higher borrowing costs slow economic activity.

    In recent weeks, major tech companies including Amazon, Meta, Snap, HP and Twitter are cutting tens of thousands of employees as they adjust to a slower-growth environment. A continuing hiking campaign from the central bank could lead to even more cuts in the previously fast-growing sector.

    “All companies benefit from low borrowing costs, but tech in particular has benefited from low borrowing costs because so much of their revenue is projected in the future. They’re growth companies,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, the payroll processor.

    She added, “Technology companies represent just 2 percent of U.S. employment, so while technology layoffs affect individual companies and their workers, the sector’s employment writ large is a very small percentage of the overall job market.”


    Massive layoffs at Meta indicate Silicon Valley woes

    02:34

    Hiring overall has remained solid, with employers adding 261,000 jobs last month and are creating an average of nearly 407,000 a month this year — on pace to make 2022 the second-best year for hiring (after 2021) in government records going back to 1940. There are nearly two job openings for every unemployed American. The unemployment rate is 3.7%, a couple of ticks above a half-century low.

    New weekly applications for unemployment benefits were extremely low early this year — staying below 200,000 for much of February, March and April. They began to tick up in late spring and hit 261,000 in mid-July before trending lower again.

    “We expect layoffs to rise as demand softens in response to higher interest rates,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a research report. “However, the move is likely to be gradual given businesses are still struggling with labor shortages and will be reluctant to cut their workforce.”

    The Labor Department said Wednesday that 1.55 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended Nov. 12, up by 48,000 from the week before.

    CBS News’ Irina Ivanova contributed reporting.

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  • Fewer Americans file for jobless benefits last week

    Fewer Americans file for jobless benefits last week

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    The U.S. job market remains healthy as fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, despite the Federal Reserve’s rapid interest rate hikes this year intended to bring down inflation and tighten the labor market

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. job market remains healthy as fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, despite the Federal Reserve’s rapid interest rate hikes this year intended to bring down inflation and tighten the labor market.

    Applications for jobless claims for the week ending Nov. 12 fell by 4,000 to 222,000 from 226,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week moving average rose by 2,000 to 221,000.

    The total number of Americans collecting unemployment aid rose by 13,000 to 1.51 million for the week ending Nov. 5. a seven-month high, but still not a troubling level.

    Applications for jobless claims, which generally represent layoffs in the U.S., have remained historically low this year, deepening the challenges the Federal Reserve faces as it raises interest rates to try to bring inflation down from near a 40-year high.

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  • What does October’s strong jobs report say about the U.S. economy?

    What does October’s strong jobs report say about the U.S. economy?

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    What does October’s strong jobs report say about the U.S. economy? – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    As the unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.7% last month, hiring across the nation continued to remained robust. Jacob Sonenshine, a markets reporter at Barron’s, joined Weijia Jiang on CBS News to discuss what the recent jobs report means for the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening.

    Be the first to know

    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


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  • Layoffs rising as the U.S. economy slows

    Layoffs rising as the U.S. economy slows

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    More U.S. companies are cutting jobs and freezing hiring as the economy cools, a sign that efforts by the Federal Reserve to tamp down inflation are hitting the labor market. 

    Layoff announcements spiked in September, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Job cuts last month rose to nearly 30,000, an increase of 46% from August, while the number of companies announcing hiring plans last month fell to the lowest level in more than a decade, the firm said.

    “Some cracks are beginning to appear in the labor market. Hiring is slowing and downsizing events are beginning to occur,” Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.

    Government figures also point to a slowing job market. Jobless claims for the week ending October 1 rose by 29,000, to 219,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The total number of Americans collecting unemployment aid rose by 15,000 to nearly 1.4 million for the week ending September 24.

    “We won’t read too much into one week’s claims data, but if an upward trend persists, it would be consistent with other recent indicators pointing to some loosening of labor market conditions,” economists at Oxford Economics said in a research note.

    Applications for jobless aid generally reflect layoffs, which have remained historically low since the initial purge of more than 20 million jobs at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020. However, the technology sector has seen a hiring slowdown, with dozens of companies announcing layoffs or hiring freezes. Last week, Meta said it planned to reduce headcount for the first time in the company’s history.

    Netflix, Peloton, Snap, Twilio, Taboola and Twitter have all announced layoffs. Google parent Alphabet has shut its video-game streaming service, Stadia, and Amazon has reportedly frozen corporate hiring in its retail division.


    Meta announces its first hiring freeze, signaling tech slowdown

    03:23

    The number of available jobs in the U.S. plummeted in August compared with July, the government said earlier this week. The drop of more than 1 million open jobs signals that employers are pulling back on hiring as they contemplate economic uncertainty ahead.

    The Federal Reserve is closely watching job-openings data for signs that demand for workers is cooling off. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has repeatedly cited the high number of open jobs as one driver of historically high inflation and has signaled that the unemployment rate will likely rise as part of the Fed’s push to curb inflation. 

    The U.S. central bank has raised its key interest rate to a range of 3% to 3.25%, up from near zero at the start of this year. The sharp rate hikes have pushed mortgage rates up to 15-year highs and made other borrowing costlier. The Fed hopes the higher interest rate will slow borrowing and spending and push inflation closer to its target of 2%. 

    As part of that at effort, the Fed expects the unemployment rate to increase to about 4.4% by next year, which is equivalent to 1.2 million people losing jobs.

    On Friday, the government is expected to report hiring data for September. Wall Street analysts estimate that 250,000 jobs were added last month. If the figures turn out substantially higher, it could spur the Fed to hike rates even faster, according to Wall Street analysts. 

    Last week, the government reported the U.S. economy shrank for the second straight quarter, but so far that has done little to cool the job market.

    The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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  • US applications for jobless benefits increased last week

    US applications for jobless benefits increased last week

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, the largest number in four months, but the labor market remains strong in the face of persistent inflation and a slowing overall U.S. economy.

    Jobless claims for the week ending Oct. 1 rose by 29,000 to 219,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week’s number was revised down by 3,000 to 190,000.

    The four-week moving average inched up by 250 to 206,500.

    The total number of Americans collecting unemployment aid rose by 15,000 to 1.36 million for the week ending Sept. 24.

    Applications for jobless aid generally reflect layoffs, which have remained historically low since the initial purge of more than 20 million jobs at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020.

    Recent employment data has indicated that the job market may be cooling slightly, an important consideration for the Federal Reserve when it meets early next month to decide whether or not to raise its main lending rate again.

    On Tuesday, the government reported that the number of available jobs in the U.S. plummeted in August compared with July as businesses grow less desperate for workers, a trend that could put a dent in chronically high inflation.

    Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that businesses added 208,000 jobs in September, ahead of analysts’ estimates of 200,000, but below the 250,000 that Wall Street expects the government to report in September jobs data coming Friday. The ADP survey does not always mirror the government’s tally.

    The Federal Reserve is aiming to bring down inflation by rapidly raising its key interest rate, which is currently in a range of 3% to 3.25%. A little more than six months ago, that rate was near zero. The sharp rate hikes have pushed mortgage rates up to 15-year highs, and made other borrowing costlier. The Fed hopes that higher interest rates will slow borrowing and spending and push inflation closer to its traditional 2% target.

    Fed officials are increasingly warning that the unemployment rate will likely have to rise as part of their fight against rising prices. If it remains at or near its current 3.7%, most economists believe it would likely mean more rate hikes from the Fed.

    Last week, the government reported that the U.S. economy shrank for the second straight quarter, but so far, that has done little to cool the job market, part of the Fed’s inflation-fighting strategy.

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