The number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits dropped a little last week as the job market showed signs of continued strength.
According to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Labor Thursday, the number of jobless claims fell by 2,000 to some 210,000. The four-week average, though, was up by 2,500 to 211,500.
Overall, 1.8 million Americans were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended March 9, up a modest 4,000 from the week before.
Despite high-profile job cuts at tech companies such as Google parent Alphabet, eBay and Cisco Systems, the Associated Press reported that overall layoffs remain below pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate, 3.9% in February, has come in under 4% for 25 straight months, the longest such streak in six decades.
The economy and the job market have shown strength despite seeing the Federal Reserve raise interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023 in an effort to combat inflation. Inflation has come down from a four-decade high 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.2% in February — but remains above the Fed’s 2% target.
“Overall, layoffs remain at low levels,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, told the AP. ”We expect job growth to slow somewhat but the unemployment rate to remain low this year.”
