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Jobless claims in the United States dropped slightly last week but stayed elevated, signaling that the labor market is slowing down. The Labor Department said on Wednesday that initial applications for unemployment benefits fell by 5,000, landing at 245,000 for the week ending June 14. That number was exactly what economists predicted in a Bloomberg survey. But it’s still close to the highest level in eight months, and continuing claims—representing the number of people still getting benefits—fell by just 6,000, reaching 1.945 million. That continuing claims number reflects workers who filed weeks ago and still haven’t found jobs. It’s one of the more serious warning signs. The four-week average for new filings jumped to 245,500, the highest level since August 2023, showing that the upward trend has been building for two straight months. Source: LSEG The data tends to move around during school breaks and holidays, but this is clearly more than just noise. It also came during the exact window the government used to collect employment data for June’s nonfarm payroll report, so the stakes were higher. Fed holds rate steady while housing stalls and layoffs widen The report came out one day earlier than usual due to the Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday. At the same time, Federal Reserve officials were wrapping up their two-day meeting, with plans to hold interest rates in place at the 4.25% to 4.50% range. That’s the level it’s been at since December, and there was no sign of a cut. Officials were watching how tariffs from President Donald Trump’s policies are playing out, and monitoring the global fallout from the Israel-Iran conflict. So far, the price hikes from tariffs haven’t pushed up consumer prices much, but the broader impact is still being measured. Job losses are hitting several sectors at once. In…

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Filed under: News - @ June 18, 2025 6:22 pm