The number of American workers filing initial unemployment claims took another tumble last week.
Jobless claim applications fell to 215,000 for the week ending April 12, according to statistics released by the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s a drop of 9,000 claims and fell well below the 225,000 new applications analysts forecast, according to a report from The Associated Press.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits have mostly stayed between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years.
The four-week average of applications, which can soften some of the week-to-week swings, fell by 2,500 to 220,750.
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.
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.
Earlier this month, the government reported that U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate inched up to 4.2%.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of April 5 jumped by 41,000 to 1.89 million.
