Latest news with #USLaborDepartment
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
US news: Jobless claims rise, layoffs remain low, economy contracts 0.2%
The US Labor Department said on Thursday applications for jobless benefits rose last week but workers broadly remain secure in their jobs despite economic uncertainty. Official data showed jobless benefits applications surged by 14,000 to 240,000 in the week ended May 24. For the week of May 17, the total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits rose by 26,000 to 1.92 million. In April, the US employers added a strong 177,000 jobs and the unemployment rate stood at a healthy 4.2%. Separately, the government said on Thursday that the US economy contracted 0.2% in the first quarter of 2025, a slight upgrade from its first estimate. The economic growth was slowed by a rise in imports as companies in the US tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump's massive tariffs went into effect. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are seen as representative of US 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. The latest data reflect that the labor market remains strong, with plentiful jobs and relatively few layoffs. Concerns over economic uncertainty triggered by President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on imports upended a robust US labor market. However, a sense of relief swept over financial markets on Thursday after a US federal court blocked Trump's most tariffs imposed under an emergency-powers law. The Trump administration has filed appeal and the Supreme Court will certainly be called upon to decide the issue. The court order announced on Wednesday 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. Earlier in May, the US Federal Reserve held its lending rate at 4.3% for the third straight time after cutting it three times at the end of 2024. Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chair, had 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.
Business Times
18-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Greenback rises to fourth straight weekly gain on latest US economic data
THE dollar strengthened on Friday (May 16) after the latest round of economic data showed a rebound in import prices while consumer sentiment remained subdued as tariff worries jumped, putting it on pace for a fourth straight weekly advance. The US Labor Department said import prices gained 0.1 per cent last month after dropping 0.4 per cent in March as a jump in the cost of capital goods outweighed cheaper energy prices. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices, which exclude tariffs, would decrease 0.4 per cent. The dollar began to strengthen after a separate reading from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed its Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 50.8 this month, below the 53.4 estimate, from a final reading of 52.2 in April. In addition, the 12-month inflation expectations of consumers shot up to 7.3 per cent, the highest level since November 1981, from 6.5 per cent. The greenback began last week with a surge of more than 1 per cent on Monday after the United States and China announced a 90-day pause on most of the tariffs imposed on each other's goods since early April, easing fears of a global recession, but had been trending lower throughout the week in part due to tepid economic data. 'There's all this data, but the headlines are taking over,' said Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex USA in Washington. 'The issue with (trade) developments is that they're just happening a whole lot faster, and the ongoing, never-ending lack of guidance for the future continues. Meanwhile, we're looking at data that is not truly reflecting all of the anxiety that we've really been living through.' BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.36 per cent to 101.13, with the euro down 0.37 per cent at US$1.1146. The greenback is up about 0.7 per cent on the week, which would mark its biggest weekly gain in about two-and-a-half months, while the euro is down 0.9 per cent on the week, and on track for its biggest weekly decline since early February. The greenback is still down nearly 3 per cent since Apr 2, when US President Donald Trump announced his spate of tariffs on countries around the globe. 'The very idea that trade is not getting away from turbulence continues to affect the long-term faith in the dollar,' said Perez. Markets have dialled back expectations for rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve this year as a result of the signs of easing trade tensions, pricing in a 67.1 per cent chance for the first cut of at least 25 basis points at the central bank's September meeting, according to LSEG data. The prior view was for a likely cut in July. Recent comments from Fed officials have indicated the central bank needs more data to determine the impact of the tariff announcements on prices and the economy before adjusting policy. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.16 per cent to 145.89. Japan's economy shrank for the first time in a year and at a faster pace than expected, data for the March quarter showed on Friday. The dollar was up 0.4 per cent last week against the yen. Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said he would seek to discuss foreign exchange issues with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the understanding that excessive currency volatility is undesirable, and hopes to meet with Bessent this week. REUTERS
Business Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Gold gains on softer US dollar, Fed decision awaited
[BENGALURU] Gold prices edged higher on Monday (May 5), helped by a weaker US dollar, while investors awaited more clarity on trade policy between the US and its trading partners, and looked forward to the Federal Reserve's policy decision due later this week. Spot gold gained 0.2 per cent to US$3,245.01 an ounce, as at 0031 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.3 per cent to US$3,252.00. The US dollar was down 0.1 per cent against its rivals, making gold more attractive for other currency holders. Last week, China's commerce ministry said the US has repeatedly expressed willingness to negotiate on tariffs and that Beijing's door is open for talks. US President Donald Trump said he will not remove Jerome Powell as Fed board chairman before his term ends in May 2026 while describing the central banker as 'a total stiff' and repeating calls for the Fed to lower interest rates. Traders trimmed bets on Friday that the Fed will cut rates as soon as in June after the US Labor Department reported employers added more jobs than expected in April and the unemployment rate was steady at 4.2 per cent, signs the job market remains in balance. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The market's focus will on the US central bank policy decision and speeches by several Fed officials due this week, for insights into future monetary policy trajectory. Non-yielding gold acts as a hedge against global uncertainty and inflation and tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment. Chinese markets are closed for the Labour Day holiday from May 1 to 5 and will resume trade on Tuesday, May 6. Spot silver rose 0.1 per cent to US$32.02 an ounce, platinum fell 0.5 per cent to US$954.88 and palladium eased 0.2 per cent to US$951.36. REUTERS
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First Post
02-05-2025
- Business
- First Post
‘Market refuses to buckle:' US adds 177,000 jobs in April, beating expectations
While US President Donald Trump's tariff policies have ushered in an era of unpredictability, analysts believe the damage is not showing up in the labour market yet read more The US economy added 177,000 jobs in April, much more than what analysts anticipated. However, this was lower than the March figure of 185,000. The US Labor Department reported Friday (May 2) that the unemployment rate remained at a low 4.2 per cent. While US President Donald Trump's tariff policies have ushered in an era of unpredictability, analysts believe the damage is not showing up in the labour market yet. 'The labour market refuses to buckle in the face of trade war uncertainty,' Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at fwdbonds, a financial markets research firm, was quoted as saying by CNBC. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Politicians can count their lucky stars that companies are holding on to their workers despite the storm clouds forming that could slow the economy further in the second half of the year,' he added. More insights Transportation and warehousing companies added 29,000 jobs last month, possibly because firms are rushing to stock up on imports before new tariffs drive prices higher. Healthcare added nearly 51,000 jobs, while bars and restaurants added 17,000, and construction gained 11,000. However, factories lost 1,000 jobs. Wages rise at moderate pace Wages continued to rise at a moderate pace. Average hourly earnings went up by 0.2 per cent from March and are now 3.8 per cent higher than a year ago. That's close to the 3.5 per cent annual wage growth economists say is in line with the Federal Reserve's 2 per cent inflation goal. The labor force grew by 5,18,000 people last month, and the participation rate—the percentage of people working or looking for work—edged up slightly. Boston College economist Brian Bethune said before the report that there were no clear signs of weakness in the job market. 'We are not seeing right now any really adverse effects on the employment market.' Still, many economists worry that a slowdown in economic growth caused by trade tensions could hurt hiring. So far, however, companies seem hesitant to cut workers. Many still remember how difficult it was to rehire after the sharp but brief layoffs during the 2020 COVID-19 recession. The overall strength in hiring and the low unemployment rate suggest the Federal Reserve will hold off on any rate cuts for now. Chairman Jerome Powell has said tariffs could raise prices, making the Fed cautious about inflation. Unless layoffs rise sharply, a rate cut appears unlikely at this time. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Business Standard
30-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
US stocks stay supported ahead of key economic cues
The US stocks stayed largely supported on Tuesday. With the upward move, the S&P 500 closed higher for the sixth straight session, hitting its best closing level in almost a month. The Dow added 300.03 points or 0.8 percent to 40,527.62, the S&P 500 climbed 32.08 points or 0.6 percent to 5,560.83 and the Nasdaq edged up 95.18 points or 0.6 percent to 17,461.32. Risk sentiment is positive this week amid some progress in global trade talks. However, now the focus has shifted to the near-term data pointers from the US with labour market cues taking the centre stage. The US Labor Department released a report yesterday showing job openings decreased to 7.192 million in March from a downwardly revised 7.480 million in February. The Labor Department said hires rose to 5.411 million in March from 5.370 million in February, while total separations fell to 5.137 million in March from 5.316 million in February. The attention will now shift to the all-important non-farm payrolls data for April to be released on 2 May. Investors will also be eying release of first quarter US GDP as well as the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.
