US jobless claims fall as labour market shows strength
Initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 228,000 in the week ended July 15, as per Labor Department data
Published July 20, 2023
Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits as the numbers touched the lowest level in two months last week amid ongoing labour market tightness, Bloomberg reported.
According to Labor Department data published on Thursday, the initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 228,000 in the week ended July 15 — the lowest since mid-May.
Those who have received unemployment benefits for over a week increased to 1.75 million, rising by 33,000 in the week through July 8. This was the largest increase in over three months.
This shows that the labour market remains strong as businesses hold onto employees, providing hope for the economy to avoid recession this year.
"The warning clouds of recession have scattered and company layoffs have come back down," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York, according to Reuters.
"If there is a recession out there, it is one without too many job losses. We don’t know of any such recessions in economic history so there must not be one looming."
The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, fell by 9,250 to 237,500.
However, claims were changed a bit in the week ended July 15 on an unadjusted basis. The applications rose in California, Georgia and South Carolina while other states including including Michigan and Kentucky saw a decline.
