Jobless claims jump to 2-month high - but still no sign of r

[source image]
Dow Jones NewsAug 21, 12:42 PM UTC
MW Jobless claims jump to 2-month high - but still no sign of rising U.S. layoffs

By Jeffry Bartash

 

Businesses aren't hiring or firing many workers

 

The U.S. economy isn't creating many new jobs lately.

 

Some leaders of the Federal Reserve are worried about a weakening labor market and the threat of rising unemployment, but there's still no sign of widespread layoffs in the U.S. economy.

 

The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits in the seven days ended Aug. 16 rose by 11,000 to a two-month high of 335,000, the government said Thursday.

 

The increase was inflated by technical adjustments used by government statisticians to account for seasonal swings in employment during the summer.

 

Raw or actual new claims, however, fell to 194,000 - an extremely low number by historical standards.

 

While the monthly U.S. employment report points to a big slowdown in hiring over the summer, the weekly jobless claims report also has shown that layoffs remain near a record low.

 

Some economists have taken to calling it the "low-hire, low-fire" labor market.

 

Key details: The number of people collecting unemployment benefits climbed by 30,000 to 1.97 million, the highest level since November 2021.

 

That's the most worrisome part of the weekly jobless report. What it shows is that people who lose one job are having a much hard time finding another compared to a few years ago.

 

Big picture: The U.S. labor market seems fine if you already have a job. It's not so great for people looking for work.

 

Hiring is unlikely to pick up again, economists say, until the trade wars wind down and businesses know how much the tariffs are going to cost them.

 

What could also help are interest-rate cuts by the Fed. Some senior Fed officials area pushing for a rate cut soon, but the bank is divided over what to do next.

 

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA and S&P 500 SPX were set to decline in Thursday trades.

 

-Jeffry Bartash

 

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

 

08-21-25 0842ET

 
Copyright © 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.