Weekly number of Americans filing unemployment benefits falls to lowest point since May
Date
9/25/2024 4:26:22 AM
(MENAFN) Last week, the quantity of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped to its lowest point in four months.
Jobless claims fell by 12,000, to reach 219,000, for the week of September 14, the labor Department stated on Thursday. Which is less than economists' estimates for 230,000 fresh filings.
Weekly filings for unemployment benefits, seen as primary reflection of layoffs, had increased slightly since May ahead of this week's drop. Even though remain at historically robust levels, the recent rise indicated that elevated interest rates might finally be impacting the labor market.
Responding to easing employment data and retreating consumer prices, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday reduced its benchmark interest rate by a half of a percentage point, 50 basis points, as the central bank changes its attention from controlling inflation to bolster the job market. The Fed's aim is to accomplish a unique “soft landing,” by which it limits inflation without making a recession.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management declared that “The focus has now decisively shifted to the labor market, and there’s a sense that the Fed is trying to strike a better balance between jobs and inflation.”
It was the Fed’s initial rate cut since 2020 following a wave of rate uplifts in 2022 and 2023 driven the federal funds rate to a 20-year high of 5.3 percent.
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