The Labor Department revealed on Wednesday that there were 17,000 more Americans who filed first-time jobless claims last week.
226,750 was the four-week moving average, up 5,500 from the previous time frame.
Although the Federal Reserve is tightening monetary policy by raising interest rates to combat inflation, the labor market has continued to be a source of economic resilience. Due to the steep increase in consumer borrowing rates, interest-rate-sensitive industries have suffered, most notably the housing market.
However, there have been significant cutbacks in the number of open positions and some layoffs recently in companies that benefited from the coronavirus epidemic, notably in the IT sector.
HP said on Tuesday that it will eliminate between 4,000 and 6,000 positions by 2025, joining the layoff march. Amazon, Twitter, and Meta, previously Facebook, have all disclosed layoffs. Even if the rate of pay growth has slowed a touch from early this year, businesses are still making hires.
As it determines monetary policy, the Fed focuses on two factors: the labor market and inflation. The annual rate of inflation is at 7.7%, which is lower than the peak it achieved in June but still far higher than the Fed’s goal level of 2%.
While the Fed has some control over the economy’s total demand, it is mostly powerless to influence the cost of food and energy, which are the main factors behind the present inflationary wave. The conflict in Ukraine has had a negative impact on both. Inflation is also a worldwide issue.
Source: U. S. News
