The Trump administration has been culling jobs from the federal workforce, but apparently the cuts being made by the Department of Government Efficiency haven’t started hitting the unemployment line.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to 221,000 for the week ending March 1, according to statistics released by the Labor Department Thursday. That’s down by 21,000 and is significantly fewer than the 236,000 new applications analysts expected.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, which have remained mostly in a range between 200,000 and 250,000 for years, the Associated Press reported.
The four-week average, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, inched up by 250 to 224,250.
Some analysts expect layoffs ordered by DOGE to show up in the report in the coming weeks or months.
Despite showing some signs of weakening during the past year, the labor market remains healthy with plentiful jobs and relatively few layoffs.
The Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 143,000 jobs in January, significantly fewer than December’s 256,000 job gains. However, the unemployment rate ticked down to an even 4%, signaling a still very healthy labor market.
Overall, while layoffs remain low by historical standards, some high-profile companies have announced job cuts already this year.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of Feb. 22 rose by 42,000 to 1.9 million.
