U.S. applications for jobless aid fell to 233,000 last week as layoffs remain low
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending June 28 fell by 4,000 to 233,000–less than the 241,000 that analysts forecast. Applications for unemployment aid are considered a proxy for layoffs. In a separate report Thursday, the Labor Department reported that US employers added 147,000 jobs in June–a sign that the American labor market continues to show surprising resilience despite uncertainty over President Donald Trump's economic policies. The job gains were much bigger than expected, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent in May. Analysts had forecast that unemployment would rise to 4.3 percent.
While layoffs remain historically low, many companies have announced job cuts this year, including Procter & Gamble, Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, and Facebook parent company Meta. On Wednesday, Microsoft announced that it is laying off about 9,000 workers–its second mass layoff in months and its largest in more than two years. Earlier this month, Google confirmed that it had offered buyouts to another swathe of its workforce in a fresh round of cost-cutting ahead of a court decision that could order a breakup of its internet empire.
The Labor Department's unemployment benefits report showed that the four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, fell by 3,750 to 241,500. The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits the week of June 21 held steady at 1.97 million.
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