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The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, showing widespread layoffs remain low, keeping the labour market tight despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes to cool demand in the economy. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended Nov. 12, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 1,000 more applications filed than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week. There has been an increase in layoffs in the technology sector, with Twitter, Amazon and Meta, the parent of Facebook, announcing thousands of job cuts this month. Companies in interest-rate sensitive sectors like housing and finance are also letting workers go. The layoffs have so far not been evident in official data, with claims hovering in the middle of their 166,000-261,000 range this year. Economists sa...

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits increased moderately last week, pointing to a still-tight and strong labour market despite growing fears of a recession as the Federal Reserve fights to dampen demand. Though the weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed unemployment rolls, or the so-called continuing claims rising to a 10-month high in late November, economists cautioned against reading too much into the move as the data are volatile around this time of the year. Labor market tightness and resilience keeps the U.S. central bank on course to continue hiking interest rates for a while. “It is too early to interpret higher continuing claims as a signal of a loosening labour market,” said Isfar Munir, an economist at Citigroup in New York. “The holiday time is generally not attractive to workers to start a new job, compounded by many firms temporarily closing during the holiday period.” Initial claims for state unemployment be...

A help wanted sign in a storefront in Bedford, N.Y., on Nov. 1. Julia Nikhinson/The Associated Press The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week, pointing to a still tight labour market, while the economy rebounded faster than previously estimated in the third quarter. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 for the week ended Dec. 17, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 222,000 claims for the latest week. Claims have swung up and down in recent weeks, but have remained below the 270,000 threshold, which economists said would raise a red flag for the labour market. A raft of layoffs in the technology sector and interest-rate sensitive industries like housing have not had a material impact on claims. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week said “it feels like we have a structural labour shortage out there.” Labor market re...

A now hiring sign on a storefront in Washington, on Oct. 7, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, pointing to another month of solid job growth and continued labour market tightness despite efforts by the Federal Reserve to cool demand for workers. The weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday likely does not change expectations that the U.S. central bank will further scale back the size of its interest rate increases next month. It, however, poured cold water on financial market hopes that the Fed would pause its fastest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s, which had been fanned by a slump in retail sales in December and a retreat in inflation. “A low level of layoffs indicates that demand for workers remains strong and labour market conditions remain tight,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in White Plains, New York. “Facing work...