Jobless Claims Edge Up to 199,000, Still Historically Low
Weekly applications for unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 in the week ending August 1, the Labor Department said, keeping layoffs within the narrow range of recent years.
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but remained historically low, the Labor Department reported Thursday, another sign that employers are holding on to the workers they have even as hiring slows.
Filings for jobless aid in the week ending August 1 rose by 1,000 to 199,000. The previous week's figure was revised up by 1,000 to 198,000. The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly volatility, fell by 4,500 to 198,750.
The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits was 1.8 million in the week ending July 25, an increase of 24,000 from the week before.
Weekly claims are considered a proxy for layoffs and one of the closest things to a real-time gauge of the labor market's health. They have stabilized mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the economy emerged from the pandemic recession.
Hiring, however, is a different story. Employers added only 57,000 jobs in June, less than half the previous month's total, a sign companies remain cautious about expanding payrolls. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, but mostly because many people out of work gave up their job searches and were no longer counted as unemployed. The government's July jobs report is due Friday.
June's tepid gains followed a relative surge over the previous three months, countering concerns that the conflict in Iran would knock an already wobbly labor market off course. Hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 amid President Donald Trump's tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates.
Inflation remains a complication. The Federal Reserve's preferred gauge, the personal consumption expenditures index, came in at 3.7% for June, well above the central bank's 2% target. Fed officials say they are prepared to raise interest rates if inflation stays elevated, a step that would raise costs for businesses and make them less likely to hire.
Companies that have trimmed their workforces recently include Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks, Walmart and Microsoft.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
