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The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose modestly last week but remains at a healthy level.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims rose by 6,000, to 225,000 for the week of Sept. 28. It was slightly more than the 221,000 that analysts were expecting.
The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, fell by 750, to 224,250.
Applications for jobless benefits are widely considered representative of U.S. layoffs in a given week.
Recent labor market data has signaled that high interest rates may finally be taking a toll on the labor market.
In response to weakening employment data and receding consumer prices, the Federal Reserve last month cut its benchmark interest rate by half of a percentage point as the central bank shifts its focus from taming inflation toward supporting the job market. The Fed’s goal is to achieve a rare “soft landing,” whereby it curbs inflation without causing a recession.
It was the Fed’s first rate cut in four years after a series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 pushed the federal funds rate to a two-decade high of 5.3%.
