U.S. Jobless Claims Dropped Last Week in Still-Solid Labor Market -- Update
U.S. Jobless Claims Dropped Last Week in Still-Solid Labor Market -- Update
Published: July 27, 2023 at 1:37 p.m. ET
By Christian Robles
Worker filings for unemployment benefits fell last week, adding to signs of a strong labor market and nearly matching prepandemic lows.
Initial claims, a proxy for layoffs, declined by 7,000 in the week ended July 22 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims filings averaged about 220,000 in 2019 when the labor market also was solid.
The four-week moving average of weekly claims, which smooths for volatility in the weekly figures, dropped to 233,750. ... Initial claims have trended down in recent weeks after rising earlier this year amid job cuts across several industries such as technology, finance, and real estate.
"Businesses are just holding on to their workers," said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
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