The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell again last week to a four-month low even as the Federal Reserve continues its aggressive interest rate cuts to bring inflation under control.
Applications for jobless aid for the week ending Sept. 10 fell by 5,000 to 213,000, the Labor Department reported this morning. That’s the fewest since late May.
First-time applications generally reflect layoffs.
The four-week average for claims, which offsets some of the weekly volatility, fell by 8,000 to 224,000.
The number of Americans collecting traditional unemployment benefits inched up by 2,000 for the week that ended Sept. 3, to 1.4 million.
Hiring in the U.S. in 2022 has been remarkably strong even amid rising interest rates and weak economic growth. The Federal Reserve has aggressively raised interest rates in an effort to bring down inflation, which generally also slows job growth.Â
Businesses remain desperate to find workers, posting more than 11 million job openings in July, meaning there are almost two job vacancies for every unemployed American. Read the full story.Â
