By Matt Ott
More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but not enough to raise concern about the labor market or broader economy.
Jobless claims rose to 218,000 for the week ending Dec. 23, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 250 to 212,000.
Overall, 1.88 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Dec. 16, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week.
Weekly unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs. They have remained at extraordinarily low levels in the face of high interest rates.
The Federal Reserve started raising interest rates early last year to try to beat down the inflation that surged after an unusually strong economic rebound from the COVID-19 recession of 2020. The Fed has raised its benchmark rate 11 times since March of 2022.
Inflation has eased, but remains slightly above the Fed’s 2% target. The Fed has left rates alone at its last three meetings and is now signaling that it could cut rates three times next year.
When the Fed started raising rates, many economists predicted that the U.S. economy would slide into recession. But the economy and the job market have proven surprisingly resilient. The unemployment rate has come in below 4% for 22 straight months, the longest such streak since the 1960s. Hiring has slowed but remains healthy.
The combination of decelerating inflation and low unemployment has raised hopes that the Fed is managing a so-called soft landing: raising rates just enough to bring down prices without causing a recession.
A moon landing attempt by a private US company appears doomed because of a fuel leak on the newly launched spacecraft. Astrobotic Technology managed to orient the lander toward the sun Monday so its solar panel could capture sunlight and charge its onboard battery.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has announced that 100,000 businesses have signed up for a new database that collects ownership information intended to help unmask shell company owners. Yellen says the database will send the message that “the United States is not a haven for dirty money.”
A new version of the federal student aid application known as the FAFSA is available for the 2024-2025 school year, but only on a limited basis as the U.S. Department of Education works on a redesign meant to make it easier to apply.
A steep budget deficit caused by plummeting tax revenues and escalating school voucher costs will be in focus Monday as Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature return for a new session at the state Capitol.
The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years is on its way to the moon. The private lander from Astrobotic Technology blasted off Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, catching a ride on United Launch Alliance's brand new rocket Vulcan.
Global prices for food commodities like grain and vegetable oil fell last year from record highs in 2022, when Russia’s war in Ukraine, drought and other factors helped worsen hunger worldwide, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.
Wall Street is drifting higher after reports showed the job market remains solid, but key parts of the economy still don’t look like they’re overheating.
The Biden administration is docking more than $2 million in payments to student loan servicers that failed to send billing statements on time after the end of a pandemic payment freeze.
The nation’s employers added a robust 216,000 jobs last month, the latest sign that the American job market remains resilient even in the face of sharply higher interest rates.
A U.S. labor agency has accused SpaceX of unlawfully firing employees who penned an open letter critical of CEO Elon Musk and creating an impression that worker activities were under surveillance by the rocket ship company.
