U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week as employers continue to retain workers despite resurgent inflation and elevated interest rates.
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell by 7,000 to 213,000 for the week ending February 8, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts projected that 215,000 new applications would be filed.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of layoffs.
The four-week average, which smooths out some of the week-to-week volatility, inched down by 1,000 to 216,000.
Despite showing some signs of weakening during the past year, the labor market remains healthy with plentiful jobs and relatively few layoffs.
Last week, 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.
Late in January, the Federal Reserve left its benchmark lending rate alone after issuing three cuts late in 2024. Fed officials are closely monitoring inflation and the labor market for signs of a potentially weakening economy. They expect only two rate cuts this year, down from previous projections of four.
However, after Wednesday’s consumer prices report that showed inflation accelerated last month, many experts believe the Fed may not be moved to cut rates at all this year.
The consumer price index increased 3% in January from a year ago, up from a 3 1/2 year low of 2.4% in September. The new data shows that inflation has remained stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target for roughly the past six months after it fell steadily for about a year and a half.
Overall, while layoffs remain low by historical standards, a host of companies have announced job cuts already this year.
Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks and Facebook parent company Meta have all trimmed their workforces already in 2025.
Late in 2024, GM, Boeing, Cargill and Stellantis announced layoffs.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of February 1 fell to 1.85 million, a decrease of 36,000 from the previous week.
U.S. stocks are rising and recovering some of their sell-off from Friday. The S&P 500 climbed 1.6%.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
U.S. stocks are adding to their records as Wall Street cruises toward the finish line of another winning week. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Friday and is heading for its seventh winning week in the last nine.
U.S. stocks edged up to more records. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.4%. All three set all-time highs. Technology stocks helped lead the way after OpenAI announced partnerships with South Korean companies for its Stargate artificial-intelligence infrastructure project. Fair Isaac surged to its best day in nearly three years after unveiling a program where customers can potentially bypass big credit bureaus for FICO credit scores. Stock indexes also rose across much of Europe and Asia, while Treasury yields eased in the bond market.
U.S. stocks are drifting toward more records as Wall Street still doesn’t seem to care much about the latest shutdown of the U.S. government.
It pays less and less to buy and flip a home these days. The typical home flipping profit margin fell in the second quarter to its lowest level since 2008, with a typical return of 25.1% before expenses. That's according to an analysis by Attom, a real estate data company. Rising home prices are driving up acquisition costs, making flipping less profitable. The median price for a flipped home reached a record high of $259,700, according to Attom. Meanwhile, with many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market, real estate investors are taking up a bigger share of U.S. home sales overall.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday signaled a cautious approach to future interest rate cuts, in sharp contrast with other Fed officials who have called for a more urgent approach. In remarks in Providence, Rhode Island, Powell noted that there are risks to both of the Fed’s goals of seeking maximum employment and stable prices. His approach is in sharp contrast to some members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee who are pushing for faster cuts.
