The number of Americans applying for new unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, pointing to a still low level of layoffs, which eased concerns about the state of the labor market.
Initial claims for state jobless assistance fell by 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended Sept. 21, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Economists interviewed by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week.
Although the labor market has lost momentum amid declining job opportunities and reductions in hiring, layoffs remain low and show no signs of slowing.
Claims have been mostly steady since falling from an 11-month high of 250,000 in late July following temporary factory shutdowns in the auto industry.
A strike by about 30,000 technicians at Boeing, has forced the aerospace company to announce temporary furloughs for tens of thousands of workers, including what it said were "a large number of US-based executives, managers and workers" likely to increase claims in the coming weeks. come
Workers who are on strike are not eligible for unemployment benefits, but the stoppage may cause employment disruption.
The number of people receiving benefits after the initial week of aid, which is an indicator of hiring, rose by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.834 million in the week ended Sept. 14, the claims report showed.
This ongoing claims data covers the week in which the government surveyed households for September's unemployment rate. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% in August after rising to 4.3% in July. A rise in the unemployment rate from 3.4% in April 2023 following a surge in immigration that boosted the labor supply has raised concerns about a rapid deterioration in the labor market.
The Federal Reserve last week cut interest rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75%-5.00%, the first reduction in borrowing costs since 2020, which Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said was intended to show policymakers' commitment to keeping the unemployment rate low.
