Applications For U.S. Unemployment Benefits Fall Again

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week as the labor market continues to show resilience despite elevated interest rates, as reported by Matt Ott for the Associated Press (AP).

Jobless claims fell to 202,000 for the week ending December 30, down by 18,000 from the previous week.

Jobless claims fell to 202,000 for the week ending December 30, down by 18,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported. The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 4,750 to 207,750.

Overall, 1.86 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended December 23, a decrease of 31,000 from the previous week and the fewest in two months.

Weekly unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs and have remained at extraordinarily low levels in the face of high interest rates.

To extinguish the four-decade-high inflation that took hold after an unusually strong economic rebound from the COVID-19 recession of 2020, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate 11 times since March of 2022.

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