ECONOMY
US Unemployment Claims Drop To Lowest Level Since September 2022
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New applications for unemployment benefits last week dropped to the lowest level since September 2022, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Jobless claims fell to 187,000 in the week ending Jan. 13, down 16,000 from the week before. The four-week moving average for claims fell by 4,750 to 203,250, the lowest level in nearly a year.
In total, 1.81 million people collected unemployment benefits in the week that ended Jan. 6, down by 26,000 from the previous week, the agency said.
The labor market has remained resilient amid high interest rates in the Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation. Although inflation has eased in recent months, leading the Fed to hold interest rates steady at its past three meetings, it ticked up in December and remains above the central bank’s target of 2%.
The Consumer Price Index increased 0.3% in December from November, and was up 3.4% from a year ago, a higher annual rate than the 3.1% in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The core CPI, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.3% for the month, unchanged from November, and 3.9% for the year, down slightly from 4% in November.
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in December, closing out the year on a stronger note than expected. December’s job gains marked a significant increase over November, which was revised down to an added 173,000 jobs from the 199,000 originally reported. The unemployment rate of 3.7% in December was unchanged from November.
TMX contributed to this article.
