AIRLINK 194.00 Increased By ▲ 2.16 (1.13%)
BOP 9.92 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.51%)
CNERGY 7.70 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.39%)
FCCL 38.00 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.37%)
FFL 15.80 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.25%)
FLYNG 25.50 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (0.75%)
HUBC 130.70 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.41%)
HUMNL 13.82 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (1.69%)
KEL 4.71 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.86%)
KOSM 6.19 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.32%)
MLCF 44.40 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.25%)
OGDC 208.00 Increased By ▲ 1.13 (0.55%)
PACE 6.56 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PAEL 40.75 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (0.49%)
PIAHCLA 17.75 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.91%)
PIBTL 8.12 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.62%)
POWER 8.97 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-2.92%)
PPL 179.80 Increased By ▲ 1.24 (0.69%)
PRL 39.49 Increased By ▲ 0.41 (1.05%)
PTC 24.50 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (1.49%)
SEARL 107.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-0.32%)
SILK 0.99 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (2.06%)
SSGC 38.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-0.87%)
SYM 19.30 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (0.94%)
TELE 8.71 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.28%)
TPLP 12.40 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.24%)
TRG 66.40 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (0.59%)
WAVESAPP 12.66 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-0.94%)
WTL 1.69 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.59%)
YOUW 4.04 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (2.28%)
BR100 11,915 Decreased By -15.7 (-0.13%)
BR30 35,780 Increased By 120.7 (0.34%)
KSE100 113,962 Increased By 755.6 (0.67%)
KSE30 35,840 Increased By 274.5 (0.77%)

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting the labor market remains tight despite higher interest rates.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 190,000 for the week ended Jan. 14, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 214,000 claims for the latest week.

Part of the surprise drop in claims likely reflected continuing challenges adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations at the start of the year.

Through the seasonal volatility, claims have remained at levels consistent with a tight labor market, even as layoffs have accelerated in the technology industry and interest rate-sensitive sectors like finance and housing.

Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it would eliminate 10,000 jobs, joining cloud-computing rival Amazon.com, which this month started notifying employees of its own 18,000-person job cuts. Economists cautioned against reading the technology layoffs as flagging a deterioration in labor market conditions, arguing that these companies were right-sizing after over-hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

US weekly jobless claims at three-month low; layoffs drop in December

“The tech sector is just getting back to where they were in 2020 or 2021, which I don’t think is a bad situation,” said John Blevins, a guest lecturer at Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business. “It’s still a huge workforce. These people being let go at these major tech firms will get new replacement jobs almost immediately.”

Outside the technology industry, economists say companies are generally reluctant to send workers home after difficulties finding labor during the pandemic. They expect companies to cut back on hiring before resorting to layoffs.

Indeed, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book on Wednesday reported that “many firms hesitated to lay off employees even as demand for their goods and services slowed and planned to reduce headcount through attrition if needed.”

The claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed businesses for the nonfarm payrolls component of January’s employment report.

Claims decreased between the December and January survey weeks. The economy added 223,000 jobs in January.

Data next week on the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, will shed more light on employment growth in January. In the week ending Jan 7, the so-called continuing claims rose 17,000 to 1.647 million, the claims report showed.

Comments

Comments are closed.