Americans applied for fewer unemployment benefits at the end of 2019, the Labor Department announced Thursday. The number dropped by 2,000 to 222,000 in the seven days up until December 28, although the four-week average ticked up by 4,750 to 233,250.
The report beat expectations that had predicted 225,000 new claims, according to Reuters. The result marks the third consecutive weekly decline.
“I think we’re definitely going to see slightly smaller growth month by month than what we saw in 2019 and that’s consistent with economists expectations’ of the macroeconomy weakening slightly,” in the labor market, Beth Akers, Manhattan Institute senior fellow, told Cheddar.
She will be keeping an eye on manufacturing trends and changes in policy regarding trade for indications about how job numbers will grow (or shrink) in 2020.
“If you’re looking to something to be concerned about, you can look at the four-week moving average, which is up from what it’s been over the course of the year,” Akers said. “But, by and large, these are really strong, positive numbers for the labor market.”
Two 10-year-olds are among 300 children who worked at McDonald's restaurants illegally, a Labor Department investigation of franchisees in Kentucky found.
U.S. regulators say Facebook misled parents and failed to protect the privacy of children using its Messenger Kids app, including misrepresenting the access it provided to app developers to private user data.
Tom McNeela, chief RIA solutions officer with RetireOne, joined Cheddar News to explain how people can use their life insurance policies for an emergency loan. "There's a lot of advantages and opportunities with permanent life insurance policy," he said, "if you have one, and there's cash value in there, you can take a loan out, and most of the time, it's a better rate than what you can get at your bank."
Cheddar News checks in on The Day Ahead as more earnings are on tap from companies Thursday including Apple, Lyft, Kellogg and Expedia while Vice President is expected to meet with some top tech CEOs to discuss the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
Meta is warning that cybercriminals are tricking people into downloading programs that can steal valuable information on fake ChatGPT offers. Cheddar News explains how Meta has observed hundreds of malicious links on its platform.
