US jobless claims slip to 203,000 as layoffs remain low

US jobless claims slip to 203,000 as layoffs remain low The U.S. economy and job market have proved resilient in the face of high gasoline prices caused by the fighting with Iran - Bookmark The number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining near historic lows as layoffs remain rare and most American workers continue to enjoy job security. Jobless claims dropped to 203,000 last week from a revised figure of 207,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, ticked up slightly to 205,500. Claims for jobless benefits serve as a proxy for layoffs, and economists monitor them closely because they provide early indicators of where the labor market is headed. For the past year, weekly claims have mostly fluctuated within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000. The U.S. economy and labor market have proved resilient in the face of high gasoline prices caused by fighting with Iran. The U.S. unemployment rate stands low at 4.1%. That is partly because President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and the ongoing retirement of baby boomers mean fewer people are competing for jobs, with more than 1.3 million people dropping out of the labor force over the past year. Companies, scarred by the surprise worker shortages that followed the end of COVID-19 lockdowns, are reluctant to lay off staff. However, they are not hiring heavily either. This creates tough conditions for Americans seeking to break into the job market and those who lost jobs and are looking for new employment, leading economists to describe a "no hire, no fire″ job market. So far this year, employers—comprising companies, non-profit groups, and government agencies—have added an average of 61,000 jobs a month. That represents an improvement on the 9,700 monthly average last year—the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002—when lingering high interest rates and Trump’s erratic trade policies discouraged businesses from hiring. When the Labor Department publishes the August jobs report next week, forecasters surveyed by data firm FactSet expect it to show that employers added another 65,000 jobs. Hiring this year remains well below the 166,000 monthly jobs created, on average, across 2023 and 2024, let alone the 491,000 monthly additions logged during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed pandemic lockdowns. [Image text:] NOW HIRING APPLY TODAY