WASHINGTON (AP).—The number of Americans who applied for unemployment aid increased last week, although it remains within a historically low range, according to official figures.
The initial requests for unemployment aid corresponding to the week that ended January 31 increased by 22 thousand compared to the previous periodto stand at 231 thousand, reported on Thursday the United States Department of Labor.
The figure significantly exceeded the forecast of 211 thousand new applications prepared by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet, which generated attention among labor market specialists.
This indicator is considered a near real-time measure of layoffs and is often used as a benchmark to evaluate the overall health of employment.
Massive staff cuts
The rebound comes as several high-profile companies have announced job cuts over the past year, including UPS, Amazon y Dow, that just last week reported adjustments to its staff.
Additionally, on Wednesday the newspaper The Washington Post laid off about a third of its staffeliminating its sports section, several foreign offices and its book coverage, as part of an internal restructuring.
The newspaper, owned by businessman Jeff Bezos, did not disclose the total number of employees, so it was not possible to specify how many people lost their jobs in this measure.
The increase in layoff announcements, along with official reports that show a slower hiring, has contributed to greater pessimism among Americans about the performance of the economy.
In December, hiring remained at a moderate level and closed a year marked by weak employment increases, although layoffs and unemployment remained at historically low levels, according to the Department of Labor.
During that month, employers added only 50 thousand positionsalmost unchanged compared to November, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.4%its first setback since June.
The January jobs report, originally scheduled for release on Friday, was delayed due to the partial government shutdown earlier this week.
As a whole, the data reflect a labor market with less dynamism, influenced by the uncertainty derived from tariffs driven by the President Donald Trump and by the persistent effects of the high interest rates applied by the Federal Reserve in recent years.
Leave a Reply