The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a stable labor market.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose to 225,000 for the week ended May 30, according to statistics released Thursday. Labor Department said on Thursday. That’s some 12,000 more than economists polled by Reuters had forecast. The four-week moving average of claims increased only 6,500 to 214,750.
Despite high-profile job cuts by technology firms related to the adoption of artificial intelligence, layoffs have remained low, according to a report from Reuters. Clams have continued falling in the 190,000-230,000 range this year, according to the report.
U.S.-based employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May, about 39% of them in the technology sector, a separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas showed on Thursday. According to the Reuters report, that’s up 16% from April.
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report on Wednesday said employment showed “little to no change” in May, and that “most districts described a low-hire, low-fire environment,” according to Reuters. It added that “hiring remained selective and primarily focused on critical roles or attrition replacement.”
Low layoffs are anchoring the labor market. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, fell 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.777 million during the week ended May 23, the claims report showed.
