NEWS
US Unemployment Claims Fall to Lowest Level Since January
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U.S. jobless claims fell to their lowest level in eight months last week, as the labor market shows continued resilience in the face of high interest rates, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to 201,000 in the week ending Sept. 16, the lowest level since the end of January.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced it was holding interest rates stead after 18 months of increases as inflation slows down. The central bank maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.5%, noting that although inflation remains above its 2% target, job gains have slowed.
The Labor Department said that the overall number of people collecting unemployment benefits in the week ending Sept. 9 was around 1.66 million, down 21,000 from the previous week.
“This continues to reinforce that the job market is very strong and companies are continuing to grow and hire new employees. It also shows that despite higher interest rates, the housing market remains resilient,” said Ted Jenkin, founder and CEO of Atlanta-based oXYGen Financial.
The Fed aggressively raised its main rate at the past 11 consecutive meetings between March 2022 and July of this year in its battle to combat inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics last month reported consumer prices were up 3.7% year-over-year, above the Fed’s target but down from the 2022 peak of 9.1%.
“Unemployment continues to remain at historically low levels. There continues to be a large gap of needed workers especially in the blue collar sector, but job growth continues to remain strong,” Jenkin said.
TMX contributed to this article.
