US filings for jobless benefits inch up as labor market remains strong
despite fears of downturn
[April 25, 2025] By
MATT OTT
U.S. applications for jobless benefits rose modestly last week as
business continue to retain workers despite fears of a possible economic
downturn.
Jobless claim applications inched up by 6,000 to 222,000 for the week
ending April 19, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s just barely
more than the 220,000 new applications analysts forecast.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for
layoffs, and have mostly stayed in a healthy range between 200,000 and
250,000 for the past few years.
Even though President Donald Trump has paused or pulled back on many of
his tariff threats, concerns remain about a global economic slowdown
that could upend what has been an historically resilient labor market.
Early Thursday, the head of the International Monetary Fund urged
countries to move “swiftly’’ to resolve trade disputes that threaten
global economic growth.
IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the unpredictability of
Trump’s aggressive campaign of taxes on foreign imports is causing
companies to delay investments and consumers to pull back spending.
Georgieva’s comments came two days after the IMF downgraded the outlook
for world economic growth this year.
Like his pledge to institute tariffs, Trump’s promise to drastically
downsize the federal government workforce has occupied much of the early
weeks of his presidency and is still in motion.
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 It’s not clear when the job cuts
ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency — or “DOGE,”
spearheaded by Elon Musk — will surface in the weekly layoffs data.
However, the federal government staff reductions are already being
felt, even outside of the Washington, D.C. area.
Federal agencies that have either announced layoffs or are planning
cuts include the Department of Health and Human Services, IRS, Small
Business Administration, Veterans Affairs and Department of
Education.
Despite showing some signs of weakening during the past year, the
labor market remains healthy with plenty of job openings and
relatively few layoffs.
Earlier this month, the government reported that U.S. employers
added a surprisingly strong 228,000 jobs in March. While the
unemployment rate inched up to 4.2%, that’s still a healthy figure
by historical standards.
Some high-profile companies have announced job cuts already this
year, including Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines and
Facebook parent company Meta.
Thursday's report also showed that the four-week average of
applications, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility
ticked down by 750 to 220,250.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for
the week of April 12 declined by 37,000 to 1.84 million.
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