Despite a rise in unemployment claims, layoffs are still at record lows, indicating a strong job market.
According to the Labor Department, applications for jobless benefits went up by 14,000 for the week ending January 11, hitting 217,000. That’s a bit of a jump from the previous week, which had the lowest claims since last February.
The four-week average dipped slightly, down by 750 to 212,750. Meanwhile, the total number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped by 18,000 to 1.86 million.
These weekly applications are often seen as a sign of layoffs, but even with some signs of weakness in the labor market, jobs are still available. Just last week, the Labor Department shared that job growth surged in December, with employers adding 256,000 jobs and the unemployment rate falling to 4.1%.
This final jobs report for 2024 shows that the economy is still growing steadily, even with higher interest rates compared to before the pandemic. Because of this, the Federal Reserve might hold off on cutting borrowing costs again soon after making three cuts late last year.
Overall, these solid job numbers suggest we’re moving into a post-COVID phase of steady growth, low unemployment, and slightly higher inflation. Plus, the government noted that job openings unexpectedly rose in November, reaching 8.1 million, which is the highest since February. Companies are still on the lookout for workers, even as the labor market starts to loosen up a bit.
