The number of Americans applying for jobless aid remains historically low, though they rose slightly last week.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that some 221,000 workers filed jobless claims for the week of Nov. 2. That’s up some 3,000 claims from the previous week, but still fewer than the 227,000 experts had expected.
The four-week average of weekly claims, which softens some of the week-to-week fluctuations, fell by 9,750 to 227,250.
Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, rose by 39,000 to 1.89 million for the week of Oct. 26. That’s the most since late 2021.
Inflation has retreated steadily, approaching the Fed’s 2% target and leading Chair Jerome Powell to declare recently that it was largely under control.
Last week, the government reported that an inflation gauge closely watched by the Fed fell to its lowest level in three-and-a-half years.
During the first four months of 2024, applications for jobless benefits averaged just 213,000 a week before rising in May.
