Current:Home > ScamsUS applications for jobless benefits rise, but layoffs remain at historically low levels-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
US applications for jobless benefits rise, but layoffs remain at historically low levels
lotradecoin regional trading regulations View Date:2024-12-26 05:05:43
More Americans filed jobless benefits last week but layoffs remain at historically low levels despite elevated interest rates and a flurry of job cuts in the media and technology sectors.
Applications for unemployment benefits rose to 214,000 for the week ending Jan. 20, an increase of 25,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The four-week average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell by 1,500 to 202,250.
Weekly unemployment claims are viewed as representative for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week. They have remained at extraordinarily low levels despite high interest rates and elevated inflation.
Though layoffs remain at low levels, there has been an uptick in job cuts recently across technology and media.
San Jose, California-based eBay is the latest tech company to roll out a series of layoffs after quickly ramping up hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic while people spent more time and money online. The online auction site said Tuesday that it is laying off 1,000 workers.
This month, Google said it was laying off hundreds of employees working on its hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams, while TikTok said its shedding dozens of workers in ads and sales and video game developer Riot Games was trimming 11% of its staff.
Amazon said this month that it’s cutting several hundred jobs in its Prime Video and MGM Studios unit.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times said it was cutting 20% of its newsroom, at least 115 employees.
Layoffs and buyouts have hit a wide swath of the news industry over the past year. The Washington Post, NPR, CNN and Vox Media are among the many companies hit.
An estimated 2,681 news industry jobs were lost through the end of November.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate 11 times beginning in March of 2022 in an effort to squelch the four-decade high inflation that took hold after an unusually strong economic rebound from the COVID-19 recession of 2020.
Though inflation has eased considerably in the past year, the Labor Department reported recently that overall prices rose 0.3% from November and 3.4% from 12 months earlier, a sign that the Fed’s drive to slow inflation to its 2% target will likely remain a bumpy one.
The Fed has left rates alone at its last three meetings and most economists are forecasting multiple rate cuts this year.
As the Fed rapidly jacked up rates in 2022, most analysts predicted that the U.S. economy would tip into recession. But the economy and the job market remained surprisingly resilient, with the unemployment rate staying below 4% for 23 straight months, the longest such streak since the 1960s.
Overall, 1.83 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Jan. 13, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- 'Business done right': Why the WWE-TNA partnership has been a success
- Ryan Phillippe gives shout-out to ex-wife Reese Witherspoon in throwback photo: 'We were hot'
- Ángel Hernández’s retirement gives MLB one less pariah. That's not exactly a good thing.
- Bill Walton, NBA Hall of Famer who won 2 championships, dies at 71
- Walmart boosts its outlook for 2024 with bargains proving a powerful lure for the inflation weary
- A look at Pope Francis’ comments about LGBTQ+ people
- Sludge from Mormon cricket invasion causes multiple crashes in Nevada
- Mother tells police she shot one child and drowned another. A third was found safe
- US Army intelligence analyst pleads guilty to selling military secrets to China
- ConocoPhillips buying Marathon Oil for $17.1 billion in all-stock deal, plus $5.4 billion in debt
Ranking
- Alabama lawyer accused of sexually assaulting handcuffed inmate, lawsuit says
- Hawaii governor signs housing legislation aimed at helping local residents stay in islands
- 'When Calls the Heart' star Mamie Laverock placed on life support following 5-story fall
- British equestrian rider Georgie Campbell dies from fall while competing at event in U.K.
- US unemployment claims fall 7,000 to 227,000 in sign of resiliency in job market
- The famous 'Home Alone' house is for sale: See inside the revamped home listed at $5.25 million
- Jimmy Kimmel's son Billy, 7, undergoes third open-heart surgery
- Oregon wineries and vineyards seek $100 million from PacifiCorp for wildfire smoke damage to grapes
Recommendation
-
American Supercar: A first look at the 1,064-HP 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
-
Texas power outage map: Over 800,000 outages reported after storms, with more on the way
-
T-Mobile acquires US Cellular assets for $4.4 billion as carrier aims to boost rural connectivity
-
Book Review: So you think the culture wars are new? Shakespeare expert James Shapiro begs to differ
-
Streamer stayed awake for 12 days straight to break a world record that doesn't exist
-
How one school district is turning to AI to solve its bus driver shortage
-
Stars' Jason Robertson breaks slump with Game 3 hat trick in win against Oilers
-
22 are dead across the US after weekend tornadoes. More storms may be in store