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Applications for jobless benefits rose by 14,000 for the week
ending January 11, the Labor Department said Thursday, up from
the previous week’s 203,000. The previous week's figure was the
lowest since February of last year.
The four-week average of claims, which softens some of the
week-to-week volatility, dipped by 750 to 212,750.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits
for the week of January 4 fell to by 18,000 to 1.86 million.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy
for layoffs.
Though some signs of labor market weakness surfaced in 2024,
jobs are still plentiful and layoffs historically low.
Last week, the Labor Department reported that job growth in
December surged and unemployment fell. Employers added 256,000
jobs last month and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%.
The final jobs report of 2024 underscores that the economy and
hiring were able to grow at a solid pace even with interest
rates much higher than they were before the pandemic. As a
result, the Federal Reserve could be much less likely to cut
borrowing costs again in the coming months after issuing three
cuts late in 2024.
Overall, the solid jobs figures suggest the economy is entering
a post-COVID period of steady growth, higher interest rates, low
unemployment, and slightly elevated inflation.
Also last week, the government reported that U.S. job openings
rose unexpectedly in November, showing companies are still
looking for workers even as the labor market has loosened.
Openings rose to 8.1 million in November, the most since
February and up from 7.8 million in October.
Though layoffs remain healthy by historical standards, several
high-profile companies have announced job cuts in the past few
months.
Just this week, Facebook parent company Meta announced that it
was laying off 5% of its staff and spirits giant Brown-Forman —
the maker of Jack Daniel's — said it’s reducing its global
workforce by about 12%.
Late in 2024, GM, Boeing, Cargill and Stellantis all announced
layoffs.
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