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The
Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims slid to
196,000, the fewest since mid-July and down from 206,000 the
week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out
week-to-week volatility, dropped to 203,250.
Economists had expected claims to come in at 207,500, according
to a survey by the data firm FactSet.
Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and
economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the
job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly
stayed within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000 a
week.
The American job market has remained sturdy despite higher
gasoline prices that have squeezed businesses and consumers
since the fighting with Iran began Feb. 28.
Layoffs are low. Businesses, remembering the labor shortages
that followed the end of pandemic lockdowns, are reluctant to
let go of staff. They’re hiring — but modestly by the standards
of recent years.
So far this year, employers — companies, government agencies and
nonprofits — have been adding an average 80,000 jobs a month,
including a surprising 162,000 in August. That is an improvement
on a dismal 2025 when monthly job creation averaged 9,700 as
high interest rates and President Donald Trump’s ever-changing
trade policies discouraged hiring.
But it remains well below the 166,000 monthly jobs created, on
average, in 2023 and 2024, and the 491,000 a month recorded
during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed COVID-19
lockdowns.
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