Jobless claims rise to highest level in eight months in recession warning
by Zachary Halaschak, Economics Reporter |
| July 21, 2022 10:33 AM
The number of new applications for unemployment benefits increased by 7,000 last week to 251,000, the highest number in eight months.
Rising jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, is a sign that the labor market may be facing some turbulence, although the figure is still somewhat low in a historical sense.
Around this time in July 2021, new claims were averaging over 400,000 per week. The number of jobless claims bottomed out at the 166,000 tallied in mid-March, the lowest figure since 1968.
Still, the fact that jobless claims keep ticking up each week shows that the tight labor market may be slowing in response to the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Many economists believe the United States may slip into a recession, and a few believe the country is already enmeshed in one.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/jobless-claims-highest-eight-months-recession
