Due to the upcoming Thanksgiving this week, the U.S. Department of Labor released this week’s “Unemployment Insurance Weekly Report” early on November 26. In the current labor market where companies are relatively stable with their “no hiring, no firing” policy, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased for the week ending November 22.
In the United States, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in seven months at the beginning of last week, indicating that the scale of layoffs is still low. However, amidst the economic uncertainty, the labor market continues to struggle to create enough job opportunities to reemploy the unemployed.
The report indicates that for the week ending November 22, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims for unemployment benefits was 216,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the revised figure of the previous week, marking the lowest level since April. The previous week’s figure was revised upward by 2,000 to 222,000. The four-week moving average is 223,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the revised average of the previous week.
Analysts at Reuters believe that the current labor market situation is stable. Economists point out that the uncertainty surrounding trade tariff policies and the tightening of immigration policies have created an environment where companies are reluctant to lay off or hire new employees, leading to what they and policymakers refer to as a “no firing, no hiring” labor market.
With the application of artificial intelligence in certain positions, some companies, including Amazon, have increased layoffs. Economists predict that these layoffs may be reflected in next year’s unemployment claims data, although past claim volumes have not always grown in sync with announced layoffs.
Furthermore, the report shows that for the week ending November 15, the number of individuals continuing to claim unemployment benefits after the initial claim (considered an alternative indicator of employment) increased by 7,000 to 1.96 million after seasonal adjustment. The number of “continuing claims” covers the period when the government conducts household surveys to calculate the November unemployment rate.
Following the recent 43-day government shutdown, the government extended the data collection period for the November employment report. The November employment report will be released on December 16 and will include the nonfarm payroll data for October. Due to the government shutdown disrupting data collection, there will be no unemployment rate data for October.
Government data released last week showed that the unemployment rate rose from 4.3% in August to 4.4% in September.
(Reference: Reuters)