Published 32 mins ago
Jobless claims climb again, hovering near 8-month high
Proxy for layoffs neared the highest level of the year last week
By Megan Henney FOXBusiness
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week edged higher, hovering near the highest level of the year – the latest sign that the historically tight labor market is starting to cool off.
Figures released Thursday by the Labor Department show that applications for the week ended July 30 rose to 260,000 from the downwardly revised 254,000 recorded a week earlier. That is above the 2019 pre-pandemic average of 218,000 claims and just narrowly missed topping the eight-month high of 261,000 recorded in mid-July
Continuing claims, or the number of Americans who are consecutively receiving unemployment aid, rose slightly to 1.416 million for the week ended July 23, up by 48,000 from the previous week's revised level. One year ago, nearly 12.96 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits.
For months, the labor market has been one of the few bright spots in the economy, with the June jobs report showing that the unemployment rate remained at 3.6% – near a historic low – for the fourth consecutive month.
But there are signs that the labor market is starting to weaken, with a plethora of companies, including Alphabet's Google, Walmart, Apple, Meta and Microsoft, announcing hiring freezes or layoffs in recent weeks.
more
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/jobless-claims-climb-again-hovering-near-8-month-high
