US Initial Jobless Claims Rise to 199,000, Stay Below 200,000 for Third Week
Summary
- US initial jobless claims totaled 199,000, staying below 200,000 for a third straight week.
- The figure was below the Dow Jones forecast of 204,000 and extended a run below the average of recent years.
- The US labor market is seeing a slowdown in job growth while layoffs remain historically low, leaving it in a "no hire, no fire" phase.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
US initial jobless claims totaled 199,000 last week, covering the period from July 26 to August 1. Filings stayed below 200,000 for a third straight week.
The US Labor Department said on August 6 that new applications for unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 from the previous week.
The total came in below the 204,000 estimate compiled by Dow Jones.
Weekly initial claims fell to 189,000 in the July 12 to July 18 period and have remained below the 200,000 mark for three consecutive weeks since then.
Continuing claims, which reflect people receiving benefits for more than two weeks, totaled 1.801 million in the July 19 to July 25 period. That was up 24,000 from a week earlier. Weekly initial jobless claims in the US have generally held in a range of 200,000 to 250,000 since the pandemic.
The recent run of initial claims below the average of the past several years suggests the US labor market remains stable.
US job growth has slowed, but layoffs remain historically low. The labor market is in a so-called "no hire, no fire" phase.
Han Kyung-woo, Hankyung.com reporter case@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
hankyung@bloomingbit.ioThe Korea Economic Daily Global is a digital media where latest news on Korean companies, industries, and financial markets.