The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits remained at historically low levels last week.
Unemployment claims remained at 209,000 for the week ending Oct. 7, according to statistics released by the Labor Department Thursday. The four-week moving average of claims fell by 3,000 to 206,250.
The numbers, the Associated Press reported, are a proxy for layoffs and continue to show American workers enjoy extraordinary job security.
When the Federal Reserve began raising its benchmark interest rate last year – it has raised those rates 11 times since March 2022 — to rein in surging consumer prices, many economists expected the United States to sink into recession.
https://6b779bbf361912f4933b5aa576cf7e2d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html But the economy and the job market have remained sturdy even as higher rates have brought inflation down steadily from the four-decade highs reached in 2022, according to the AP report. The combination of easing inflationary pressures and healthy hiring is raising hopes that the Fed can stick a so-called soft landing — beating inflation without triggering an economic downturn.
“Overall, layoffs remain low and demand for workers remains strong,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, told the AP. ”Even as the Fed has taken aggressive action to soften labor market conditions, businesses are not shedding workers at a rapid pace.”
https://6b779bbf361912f4933b5aa576cf7e2d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html Overall, 1.7 million people were collecting unemployment checks the week that ended Sept. 30, up by 30,000 from the week before.
