The number of Americans filing new jobless claims last week rose marginally, signaling a steady U.S. labor market following a stall in job growth last month amid hurricanes and strikes. The Department of Labor recently released the latest U.S. weekly jobless claims data, revealing that seasonally adjusted initial claims reached 221,000, up 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
The department also noted that the previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 216,000 to 218,000. Meanwhile, the 4-week moving average was 227,250, a decrease of 9,750 from the previous week’s revised average.
California filings boost claims rise
Unadjusted U.S. weekly jobless claims reached 212,274 in the week ending November 2, an increase of 10,827 or 5.4 percent from the previous week. A 4,278 jump in filings in California raised the total number of U.S. weekly jobless claims last week. Applications also rose by 3,563 in Michigan and increased by 1,927 in Ohio, offsetting notable declines in Florida and Georgia.
Although the labor market is easing, wage pressures remain high, raising concern over inflation levels and the interest rate outlook. Other data from the department also revealed that the unit labor costs witnessed a strong increase in the third quarter of 2024. The unit labor costs, the price of labor per single unit of output, increased 1.9 percent year-on-year in Q3 after an upwardly revised 2.4 percent pace of expansion in the second quarter.
The strong rise in labor costs does not align with inflation returning and staying at the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. The U.S. central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected on Thursday, lowering its policy rate to the 4.50-4.75 percent range.
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Employment growth slows
Employment growth slowed sharply last month, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by only 12,000 jobs, the fewest since December 2020. This slow growth aligned with a surge in U.S. weekly jobless claims in early October as Hurricane Helene disrupted economic activity.
A strike by factory workers at Boeing also impacted payrolls in October. The disruptions from the hurricanes have almost faded and the striking workers have gone back to work after agreeing to a new contract this week. These developments paved the way for stronger job growth in November.
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