Last week, there were an estimated 238,000 first-time claims filed for unemployment benefits, an increase of 4,000 from the week before, according to Department of Labor data released Wednesday. The latest uptick brought the four-week average of initial claims to its highest level since August 2023.
Also, Americans are staying unemployed for longer: Continuing claims, which are filed by people who have received benefits for at least a week or more, rose to their highest level since November 2021.
Increase in Unemployment Claims
On a three-month average basis, continuing claims are up about 200,000 people from last year. There is concern as the metric of permanent job losers, year-over-year, is almost never positive during economic expansions. This trend was not positive between 2010 and 2019 or during periods following prior recessions.
Despite the appearance of strong job growth in raw numbers, experts suggest that a deeper analysis reveals a labor market that has normalized and remains at risk of slipping.
Layoff Trends
Other measures of layoff activity have not shown a significant increase. US-based employers announced fewer job cuts last month compared to May, but those layoff reports are trending above last year’s numbers, according to data released by an outplacement and workplace research firm.
The firm reported 48,786 job cuts announced in June, representing a nearly 24% decrease from the 63,618 cuts announced in May; however, this figure is 19.8% higher than the 40,709 cuts reported in June of the previous year.
