Applications for jobless claims up slightly last week
WASHINGTON (AP) — Slightly more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to show strength even as the Federal Reserve has tried for nearly a year to slow the economy by raising its main lending rate.
Applications for jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 17 inched up by 2,000 to 216,000 from the previous week’s 214,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Jobless claims are generally viewed as a representation of layoffs.
The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out some of the week-to-week swings, fell by 6,250 to 221,750.
About 1.67 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended Dec. 10, about 6,000 fewer than the week before.
Despite the Fed's attempt to fight stubbornly high inflation by raising interest rates to cool the economy, American workers are still experiencing extraordinary job security, with nearly two jobs for every unemployed person. U.S. employers added 263,000 jobs last month.
Though the U.S. economy shrank in the first half of this year — part of which came before the Fed started hiking rates — the government said Thursday that the economy grew at an unexpectedly strong 3.2% annual pace in the third quarter.
The Fed has raised its key lending rate seven times this year has projected more in 2023 as it tries to bring down prices that are gobbling up Americans’ paychecks.
Last week, the Fed raised its short-term lending rate by 0.5 percentage points, a smaller increase than the previous four increases of 0.75 percentage points. Its key rate now stands in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, the highest in 15 years.
Fed policymakers forecast that their key short-term rate will reach a range of 5% to 5.25% by the end of 2023, suggesting the Fed is prepared to raise its rate by another...