The Labor Department recently reported that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreased by 7,000 last week, with jobless claims totaling 227,000. The four-week average of claims also saw a decline of 4,500, settling at 236,500.
As of the week ending on Aug. 3, the number of Americans receiving jobless benefits stood at 1.86 million, showing a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week. These weekly filings for unemployment benefits, a gauge for layoffs, are relatively low compared to historical data. However, they began to rise in May, suggesting that high interest rates are impacting the U.S. job market.
The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023 to combat inflation, bringing it to a 23-year high. Inflation has gradually decreased from 9.1% in June 2022 to 2.9% last month. Despite the rising borrowing costs, the U.S. economy and hiring have continued to grow, dispelling concerns of a looming recession.
Nevertheless, the recent job market data indicates that the elevated interest rates are starting to affect employers. In July, only 114,000 jobs were added, significantly below the monthly average of nearly 218,000 from January to June. Although the unemployment rate climbed for the fourth consecutive month in July to 4.3%, it remains relatively low. The number of job openings per month has also decreased since reaching a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022, dropping to 8.2 million in June.
With indications of an economic slowdown emerging and inflation edging closer to the Fed’s 2% target, it is anticipated that the Federal Reserve will commence rate cuts at its upcoming meeting in September.
