Posted 3/14/2024, 2:17:13 PM
Jobless Claims Remain Near Historic Lows Despite Some Layoffs, Signaling Ongoing Labor Market Strength
- Number of Americans filing jobless claims last week was 209,000, largely staying at historically low levels indicating a strong labor market
- 1.81 million Americans collecting jobless benefits currently
- Weekly claims considered a proxy for number of U.S. layoffs; have been low since 2020 pandemic job losses
- Fed raised rates to cool wage growth and loosen labor market, but jobs have remained plentiful and economy resilient
- Unemployment rate still low at 3.9% for 25 straight months, though some tech/media companies recently announced layoffs
