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Dow Jones NewsJun 18, 12:41 PM UTC
MW Jobless claims move lower, easing some concerns about labor market health
By Jeffry Bartash and Greg Robb
Claims have moved higher since mid-May
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell for the first time in a month, easing some concerns about recent weakness.
Initial jobless claims fell 5,000 to 245,000 in the seven days ended June 14, based on seasonally adjusted data, the government said Wednesday. The weekly report was released a day early because of the Juneteenth holiday.
Economists had been expecting a slight drop of 2,000 to 246,000 from last week's initial estimate of 248,000 claims, according to a survey by the Wall Street Journal.
Key details: The raw or unadjusted number of new jobless claims fell 10,160 to 235,709.
The number of jobless workers collecting unemployment benefits fell 6,000 to 1.94 million. There has been a steady increase in continuing claims showing it's taking longer for people to find jobs.
Big picture: Unemployment filings had risen sharply since mid-May, but it's unclear whether layoffs are rising or the increase is mostly tied to the end of the school year. Most economists think it is the latter as education workers in some states such as bus drivers and cafeteria workers can collect benefits when school is out for summer.
On the other hand, new claims are somewhat higher compared to a year ago.
Economists are watching closely to see if simmering trade wars are damaging the U.S. labor market. Businesses have been more hesitant to hire until they get a better sense of what tariff levels the Trump administration will eventually settle upon.
Economists think the health of the labor market is crucially important for the Federal Reserve. There will need to be signs of weakness for the central bank to consider cutting rates. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady for the fourth straight meeting later today as the unemployment rate has remained relatively low at 4.2% for the past three months.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA and S&P 500 SPX were set to open slightly higher on Wednesday.
-Jeffry Bartash -Greg Robb
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-18-25 0841ET
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