Fewer Americans file for jobless benefits last week as labor market continues to show strength [View all]

Source: Associated Press, via Yahoo! Finance

Associated Press Finance
Fewer Americans file for jobless benefits last week as labor market continues to show strength

MATT OTT
Thu, April 3, 2025 at 8:40 AM EDT 2 min read

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell modestly last week, remaining within the same range of recent years.

Jobless claim filings fell by 6,000 to 219,000 for the week ending March 29, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s less than the 226,000 new applications analysts forecast.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, and have remained mostly in a range between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years.

However, following the Trump administration’s announcement of widespread tariff hikes yesterday, economists are worried about a global economic slowdown that could upend what has been an incredibly resilient labor market. ... Like his pledge to institute tariffs, Trump’s promise to drastically downsize the federal government workforce is fully in motion.

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