More Americans file for jobless aid but layoffs remain low despite economic uncertainty over tariffs
A hiring sign is displayed at a retail store in Chicago on Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
Filings for U.S. jobless aid jumped last week but American workers broadly remain secure in their jobs despite economic uncertainty over global trade.
Jobless benefits applications rose by 14,000 to 240,000 for the week ending May 24, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts had forecast 226,000 new applications.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are seen as representative of U.S. layoffs and have mostly settled in a historically healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 throttled the economy in the spring of 2020, wiping out millions of jobs.
A sense of relief swept over financial markets early Thursday after a federal court blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law. Wednesday's decision threw into doubt Trump's signature economic policy that has rattled global financial markets, frustrated trade partners and raised fears about inflation intensifying and the economy slumping.
The Trump administration quickly filed notice of appeal and the Supreme Court will almost certainly be called upon to decide the issue. It remains unclear whether the White House will respond to the ruling by pausing all of its emergency power tariffs in the interim.
Trump had already paused or dialed down many of his tariff threats, but concerns lingered about a global economic slowdown upending a robust U.S. labor market.
In early May, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark lending rate at 4.3% for the third straight meeting after cutting it three times at the end of last year.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said the potential for both higher unemployment and inflation are elevated, an unusual combination that complicates the central bank's dual mandate of controlling prices and keeping unemployment low. Powell said that tariffs have dampened consumer and business sentiment.
The government reported Thursday that the U.S. economy shrank at a 0.2 per cent annual pace in the first quarter of 2025, a slight upgrade from its first estimate. Growth was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the U.S. tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump's massive tariffs went into effect.
Trump is attempting to reshape the global economy by dramatically increasing import taxes to rejuvenate the U.S. manufacturing sector.
Trump has also tried to drastically downsize the federal government workforce, but many of those cuts are being challenged in the courts and Congress.
Despite showing traces of weakness during the past year, the labor market remains robust, with plentiful jobs and relatively few layoffs.
The government reported that U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 177,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate held at a healthy 4.2%.
Companies that have announced job cuts this year include Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft and Facebook parent company Meta.
Labor reported Thursday that the four-week average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week ups and downs during more volatile stretches, ticked down by 250 to 230,750.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of May 17 increased by 26,000 to 1.92 million.
Matt Ott, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Ikea is recalling thousands of garlic presses sold in Canada
Ikea is asking Canadian customers who bought a specific kind of garlic press to stop using it because small metal pieces could detach and potentially be eaten. The Swedish home furnishing giant is recalling its Chinese-made black 365+ Vardefull garlic press. Affected customers can visit an Ikea Canada store and return the product for a full refund without requiring a receipt or any other proof of purchase, Alicia Carroll, public relations leader with Ikea Canada, wrote in an email to on Wednesday. A 'production error' caused the problem after it conducted an 'internal investigation,' according to Ikea on its website Wednesday. 'IKEA apologizes for any inconvenience this recall may cause,' it wrote, noting that customer safety is a top priority and all its products are tested and comply with applicable standards and legislation. How to identify affected products The product was sold in Canada with the article numbers 305.781.89 and 201.521.58. In other countries, it was sold under article number 601.636.02. Ikea recall logo marking Ikea recall logo marking The products have date stamps from 2411 to 2522, with the first two digits indicating the year and the last two digits being the week of the year. Carroll said the article number and date stamp would be found on the original packaging, or the affected products can be identified by a marking on the upper handle. How many products are affected? Ikea reported that 10,712 affected products were sold in Canada, according to Health Canada's advisory online about the recall. It said they were sold from April 2024 to May 2025. Ikea has received no reports of incidents or injuries in Canada as of June 9, according to the recall. Globally, the company received three reports of incidents involving minor hand injuries, such as a scratch or a splinter. Ikea advises customers to spread the word about the recall, particularly if they know whether it was lent or sold to someone else. 'Please note that the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act prohibits recalled products from being redistributed, sold or even given away in Canada,' Health Canada added. Health Canada encourages customers to report any health and safety incidents related to using this product or any other items by filling out the Consumer Product Incident Report Form. Where to get more information Not sure whether you have an affected product? If that's the case, Ikea says you can still return any black 365+ Vardefull garlic press and get a refund. Visit or phone IKEA toll-free at 1-800-661-9807 for more information.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Dozens of LA-area mayors demand the Trump administration stop intensified immigration raids
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dozens of mayors from across the Los Angeles region banded together Wednesday to demand that the Trump administration stop the stepped-up immigration raids that have spread fear across their cities and sparked protests across the U.S. But there were no signs President Donald Trump would heed their pleas. About 500 of the National Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles protests have been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations, the commander in charge said Wednesday. And while some troops have already gone on such missions, he said it's too early to say if that will continue even after the protests die down. 'We are expecting a ramp-up,' said Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, noting that protests across the nation were being discussed. 'I'm focused right here in LA, what's going on right here. But you know, I think we're, we're very concerned.' Hours later, a demonstration in Los Angeles' civic center just before start of the second night of the city's downtown curfew briefly turned chaotic when police in riot gear — many on horseback — charged at a group, striking them with wooden rods and later fired crowd control projectiles, including one that struck a woman who writhed in pain on the ground. After the curfew went into effect, a handful of arrests were made before the area cleared out and the evening quieted down. The LA-area mayors and city council members urged Trump to stop using armed military troops alongside immigration agents. 'I'm asking you, please listen to me, stop terrorizing our residents,' said Brenda Olmos, vice mayor of Paramount, who said she was hit by rubber bullets over the weekend. 'You need to stop these raids.' Speaking alongside the other mayors at a news conference, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the raids spread fear at the behest of the White House. The city's nightly curfew will remain in effect as long as necessary. It covers a 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) section of downtown where the protests have been concentrated in the city that encompasses roughly 500 square miles (1,295 square kilometers). 'If there are raids that continue, if there are soldiers marching up and down our streets, I would imagine that the curfew will continue,' Bass said. Those who have been caught up in the nationwide raids include asylum seekers, people who overstayed their visas and migrants awaiting their day in immigration court. The administration has cited the protests in its decision to deploy the military. Governor asks court to step in California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, has asked a federal court to put an emergency stop to the military helping immigration agents in the nation's second-largest city. This week, guardsmen began standing protectively around agents as they carry out arrests. A judge set a hearing for Thursday. The Trump administration called the lawsuit a 'crass political stunt endangering American lives' in its official response on Wednesday. The military is now closer to engaging in law enforcement actions such as deportations, as Trump has promised in his crackdown. The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers, but any arrests must be made by law enforcement. The president posted on the Truth Social platform that the city 'would be burning to the ground' if he had not sent in the military. Some 2,000 National Guard soldiers are in Los Angeles and are soon to be joined by 2,000 more along with about 700 Marines, Sherman said. Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press and ABC, Sherman initially said National Guard troops had already temporarily detained civilians in the Los Angeles protests over immigration raids. He later said he based his comments on photos and footage he had seen that turned out not to be a representation of Guard members in Los Angeles. Curfew continues in downtown LA Police detained more than 20 people, mostly on curfew violations, on the first night of the curfew and used crowd-control projectiles to break up hundreds of protesters. But officers were more aggressive in controlling demonstrators Wednesday evening and as the curfew took effect, police were beginning to make arrests. Los Angeles police have made nearly 400 arrests and detentions since Saturday, the vast majority of which were for failing to leave the area at the request of law enforcement, according to the police department. There have been a handful of more serious charges, including for assault against police officers and for possession of a Molotov cocktail and a gun. Nine police officers have been hurt, mostly with minor injures. Some were transported to a hospital and released. Protests have spread nationwide Demonstrations have also spread to other cities nationwide, including Dallas and Austin in Texas, and Chicago and New York, where thousands rallied and more arrests were made. In New York City, police said they took 86 people into custody during protests in lower Manhattan that lasted into Wednesday morning. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the majority of demonstrators were peaceful. A 66-year-old woman in Chicago was injured when she was struck by a car during downtown protests Tuesday evening, police said. Video showed a car speeding down a street where people were protesting. In Texas, where police in Austin used chemical irritants to disperse several hundred demonstrators Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's office said Texas National Guard troops were 'on standby' in areas where demonstrations are planned. Guard members were sent to San Antonio, but Police Chief William McManus said he had not been told how many troops were deployed or their role ahead of planned protests Wednesday night and Saturday. Officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety said the Texas National Guard was present at a protest downtown. The protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. ___ Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Julie Watson in San Diego, Jesse Bedayn in Denver, and Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
What to know about ‘No Kings' protests against Trump's policies on Saturday
Opponents of President Donald Trump's administration are set to rally in hundreds of cities on Saturday during the military parade in Washington for the Army's 250th anniversary — which coincides with Trump's birthday. The 'No Kings' protests are set to take place to counter what organizers say are Trump's plans to feed his ego on what is also his 79th birthday and Flag Day.
