The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose slighty last week, for now brushing off any side effects from an ongoing trade war.
Jobless claim filings went up 223,000 for the week ending April 5, according to statistics released by the Labor Department Thursday. That’s up by 4,000, but still fewer than the 225,000 new applications analysts had forecast.
Weekly applications for unemployment have mostly remained between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years.
It’s not clear when the job cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency — or “DOGE,” spearheaded by Elon Musk — will surface in the weekly layoffs data, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Federal agencies that have either announced layoffs or are planning cuts include the Department of Health and Human Services, IRS, Small Business Administration, Veterans Affairs and Department of Education.
The labor market remains healthy with plentiful jobs and relatively few layoffs. Last week, the government reported that U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate inched up to 4.2%.
The four-week average of applications, which aims to smooth out some of the week-to-week swings, was unchanged at 223,000.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of March 29 fell by 43,000 to 1.85 million.
