WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell last week and remained in the range of years past, even as the Iran war continues to threaten the global economy.
The number of Americans who applied for unemployment aid in the week ending April 11 fell by 11,000 to 207,000, down from 218,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s lower than the 217,000 new applications expected by analysts surveyed by data firm FactSet, but within the range of years past.
Applications for unemployment benefits are considered representative of layoffs in the United States and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.
The Iran war is now in its seventh week, and despite Iran and the United States agreeing to a ceasefire last week, it poses great uncertainty about how it will affect the United States and the global economy.
U.S. financial markets have recovered in recent weeks, with oil prices settling at around $92 a barrel, better than last week’s $112, but still 37% higher than before the war started. Gas prices also remain high, imposing high costs on businesses and consumers.
According to the Labor Department, the monthly increase in gasoline prices was the largest in 60 years, with consumer prices rising 3.3% in March from a year earlier. said on friday. This was a significant increase from just 2.4% in February, and the largest annual increase since May 2024. On a monthly basis, prices in March rose 0.9% from February, marking the largest such increase in about four years.
This came at a time when U.S. inflation was already above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, making it even less likely that central bankers would cut interest rates anytime soon.
Fed officials, concerned about a weakening job market, have voted to raise interest rates three times by the end of 2025. postponed the interest rate cut Even more this year.
Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added unexpected measures. 178,000 new jobs strong The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in March. Then came shockingly large losses. Of 92,000 employees in February. The changes also cut 69,000 jobs from payrolls in December and January, showing continued strength in the labor market. burdened.
Many well-known companies have recently cut staff. morgan stanley,block, UPSand amazon.
Since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession, weekly claims for unemployment aid have remained stable, primarily in the 200,000 to 250,000 range. However, employment began to slow about two years ago and will shrink further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s erratic tariffs, purges of federal employees, and prolonged high interest rates aimed at curbing inflation.
Employers added fewer than 200,000 jobs last year, compared to about 1.5 million in 2024, according to data firm FactSet.
The American labor market appears to be in what economists call a situation. “There are fewer jobs and fewer layoffs.” The state has historically kept unemployment rates low, but unemployed workers are having a hard time finding new jobs.
The four-week rolling average of jobless claims, which smooths out some of the week-to-week fluctuations, rose by 500 to 209,750, according to a report released Thursday by the Labor Department.
The total number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in the previous week ending April 4 rose by 31,000 to 1.82 million, in line with analyst expectations.
