Jobless claims fall in sign layoffs are rare despite Fed rate hikes
by Zachary Halaschak, Economics Reporter |
December 15, 2022 08:31 AM
The number of new applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 20,000 to 211,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
This week’s jobless claims number is being closely watched for signs of labor market fallout from the Federal Reserve's efforts to raise interest rates at a historic pace. The report comes a day after the central bank hiked rates by 50 basis points.
Falling jobless claims are a sign the economy is still adding jobs despite the Fed’s efforts to tighten monetary policy to slow economywide spending and bring down inflation.
For a long stretch toward the end of the summer and the beginning of the fall, jobless claims defied expectations and remained low — even despite the Fed's aggressive and historic rate hikes. Since the start of October, though, they have been above 210,000.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/jobless-claims-fall-as-fed-continues-to-hike-interest-rates
