{"id":345,"date":"2023-03-16T14:02:19","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T19:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enjoyingthisjourney.com\/u-s-labor-market-remains-strong-despite-unexpected-rise-in-jobless-claims\/"},"modified":"2023-03-16T14:02:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T19:02:19","slug":"u-s-labor-market-remains-strong-despite-unexpected-rise-in-jobless-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enjoyingthisjourney.com\/u-s-labor-market-remains-strong-despite-unexpected-rise-in-jobless-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Labor Market Remains Strong Despite Unexpected Rise in Jobless Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"
U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, according to the Department of Labor, with initial applications for unemployment benefits hitting 211,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week.[0]<\/a><\/sup> Continuing claims, representing the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1,684,000 during the week ending March 4, a decrease of 29,000 from the previous week\u2019s revised level.[1]<\/a><\/sup> The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell by 750 to 196,500, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the eighth straight week.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Approximately 1.9 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits a year ago.[2]<\/a><\/sup> Last week\u2019s numbers, however, show a marked decrease from earlier this year when the labor market was tighter. In January, the unemployment rate was 3.5%, and the Federal Reserve projected that it would rise to 4.5% by the end of next year.[3]<\/a><\/sup> This suggests that, although the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits has increased, the labor market is still quite strong.<\/p>\n Overall, these numbers demonstrate that the U.S. labor market is still strong, although there is a slight uptick in unemployment claims. The four-week moving average of claims remains below the 200,000 threshold, suggesting that layoffs still remain quite low.[4]<\/a><\/sup> These figures should be seen as a sign of continued economic growth and resilience.<\/p>\n 0. <\/span>“U.S. jobless claims hit 10-week high of 211,000 By Investing.com” Investing.com, 9 Mar. 2023, https:\/\/www.investing.com\/news\/economic-indicators\/us-jobless-claims-hit-10week-high-of-211000-3026300<\/a><\/p>\n 1. <\/span>“Jobless Claims Fell Last Week, Showing Still Strong Labor Market” Morningstar, 16 Mar. 2023, https:\/\/www.morningstar.com\/news\/dow-jones\/202303166516\/jobless-claims-fell-last-week-showing-still-strong-labor-market<\/a><\/p>\n 2. <\/span>“Jobless claims rise sharply to highest level since December” Fox Business, 9 Mar. 2023, https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/economy\/jobless-claims-rise-sharply-highest-level-december<\/a><\/p>\n 3. <\/span>“U.S. jobless claims drop by most since July” Toledo Blade, 16 Mar. 2023, https:\/\/www.toledoblade.com\/business\/labor\/2023\/03\/16\/jobless-claims-drop-most-july\/stories\/20230316109<\/a><\/p>\n