World News | Sightly More Americans Apply for Unemployment Benefits Last Week, but Layoffs Remain Relatively Low

Washington, Feb 20 (AP) Slightly more Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, but layoffs remained in the same recent healthy range.

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose by 5,000 to 219,000 for the week ending February 15, the Labour Department said Thursday. Analysts projected that 215,000 new applications would be filed.

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Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs.

The four-week average, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 1,000 to 215,250.

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Some analysts say they expect layoffs ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency to show up in the report in the coming weeks.

Despite showing some signs of weakening during the past year, the labour market remains healthy with plentiful jobs and relatively few layoffs.

Earlier this month, the Labour Department reported that US employers added 143,000 jobs in January, significantly fewer than December's 256,000 job gains. However, the unemployment rate ticked down to an even 4 per cent, signalling a still very healthy labour market.

Late in January, the Federal Reserve left its benchmark lending rate alone after issuing three cuts late in 2024. Fed officials are closely monitoring inflation and the labour market for signs of a potentially weakening economy. They expect only two rate cuts this year, down from previous projections of four.

Last week's consumer prices report that showed that inflation accelerated last month, creating some doubt about whether the Fed will be moved to cut rates at all this year.

The consumer price index increased 3 per cent in January from a year ago, up from a 3 1/2 year low of 2.4 per cent in September. The new data shows that inflation has remained stubbornly above the Fed's 2 per cent target for roughly the past six months after it fell steadily for about a year and a half.

Overall, while layoffs remain low by historical standards, some high-profile companies have announced job cuts already this year.

Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines and Facebook parent company Meta have all trimmed their workforces already in 2025.

Late in 2024, GM, Boeing, Cargill and Stellantis announced layoffs.

The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of February 8 rose to 1.87 million, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)