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UNITED STATES (AP) — The number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance rose slightly last week but remained at a good level.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that weekly initial claims for unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to 232,000 for the week ended Aug. 17. The four-week average, which eliminates weekly gains and losses, fell 750 to 236,000.
In the week ending August 10, 1.86 million Americans were receiving unemployment insurance, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week.
Weekly claims for unemployment benefits, an indicator of layoffs, remain low by historical standards.
From January through May, weekly claims averaged at least 213,000. But they began to rise in May, reaching 250,000 by the end of July, further evidence that high interest rates are hurting the U.S. labor market.
However, initial claims for jobless benefits rose slightly this week after two straight weeks of declines, easing concerns that the labor market was deteriorating rapidly rather than simply slowing.
The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023, taking it to a 23-year high, as it battles inflation that hit a four-decade high more than two years ago. Inflation has steadily fallen — from 9.1% in June 2022 to 2.9% last month, a three-year low. Despite rising borrowing costs, the economy and employment continue to improve, defying widespread concerns that the U.S. is about to fall into a recession.
The economy is weighing heavily on voters as they prepare for the November presidential election. Despite a strong labor market and slowing inflation, Americans remain angry that consumer prices are 19% higher than they were before inflation took off in 2021.
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