There were a few more Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits last week, but the number of layoffs showed little movement.
According to statistics released by the Labor Department Thursday, there were 219,000 applications for unemployment in the week ending Feb. 15. That’s about 5,000 more than the previous week.
Analysts had predicted some 215,000 new applications would be filed.
The four-week average fell by 1,000 to 215,250.
According to a report by The Associated Press, some analysts expect layoffs ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency to show up in the report in the coming weeks.
Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 143,000 jobs in January, far fewer than the 256,000 added in December. Despite that, the unemployment rate ticked down to an even 4%, signaling a still very healthy labor market.
