A job fair in Miami last month. Initial jobless claims rose by 11,000 last week, the Labor Department said.
Photo: Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press
New applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. increased last week but held near historically low levels as employers cling to workers in a tight labor market.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, rose by 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, which smooths out volatility, increased by 500 to 231,250.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of people on unemployment rolls through regular state programs, ticked up to 1.49 million for the week ended Feb. 26 from 1.47 million a week earlier. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.
Layoffs are hovering at low levels after a brief uptick that coincided with the January surge in infections due to the Omicron variant of Covid-19. The labor market, despite headwinds from inflationary pressures, remains strong.
Demand for workers was close to a record high at the start of the year. There were 11.3 million job openings in January, down slightly from the previous month’s revised 11.4 million—a new high, the Labor Department said this week.
Employers added more than a million jobs in the first two months of this year, and the unemployment rate is edging closer to its pre-pandemic level, separate Labor Department data showed.
Overall the economy is on solid ground. Consumer spending, the economy’s main driver, rose at a brisk pace in January. But households could cut back on shopping, travel and other discretionary purchases as they face much higher gas prices. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could also push inflation up from already elevated levels.
Write to Sarah Chaney Cambon at [email protected]
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