Posted on 07/24/2025 8:06:49 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell to a three-month low last week, pointing to stable labor market conditions, though sluggish hiring is making it harder for many laid-off workers to land new opportunities.
The lack of material labor market deterioration likely gives the Federal Reserve cover to keep interest unchanged next week amid signs that President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs on imports were starting to lift inflation. Trump is pressuring the U.S. central bank to resume its interest rate cuts.
"At the moment, the labor market is holding up with financial markets holding their breath," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS. "The weekly jobless claims give Fed officials no cover whatsoever if they are seriously thinking of cutting interest rates at next week's meeting."
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 217,000 for the week ended July 19, the lowest level since April, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 226,000 claims for the latest week. Claims have declined for six straight weeks and have pulled further away from an eight-month high touched in June. Unadjusted claims decreased by 45,319 to 215,792 last week.
Claims in New York state declined 12,303, more than reversing the prior week's jump, which was attributed to layoffs in the transportation and warehousing, public administration and construction industries. There were also sizeable decreases in filings in California, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
But applications shot up by 4,902 in Kentucky, likely related to the annual closure of motor vehicle assembly plants for maintenance and retooling for new models.
Though there have been some layoffs, employers have been mostly reluctant to lay off workers, opting instead to scale back on hiring while awaiting more clarity on the Trump administration's protectionist trade policy.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Oh look! They found a dark lining to talk about!
Leave it to Reuters to clothe good news in a cape of consternation and anxiety.
THE AUTO COMPANIES ANNUAL LAYOFFS are called CHANGEOVER—when the mechanics are the only ones working & changing over items from one model year to a new model year.
I worked at American Motors in 1959-60. I worked in Accounting, so we were extra busy-—paying bills for current model year & bills for new model year. The assembly lines were off for 2 weeks.
That’s not really Reuters. Good news is bad news and vice versa is a stock market phenomenon since the Great Financial Crisis of 2009.
It derives from utter confidence that the Fed can whimsically create money and distribute it as a fix for any problem.
And so news of low unemployment claims means that jobs are plentiful and the Fed has no reason to cut rates.
Remember, they have a dual mandate. Control inflation AND control employment. Inflation ticked up last week, the PCE is upcoming and this report suggests strong employment — and so it all points at the Fed not cutting rates. Jobs are fine and inflation ticked up. No change warranted.
Probably should be talking about rate increases, given that inflation uptick. A few more and that will dominate conversation.
Dishonest monetary system. All currencies are fiat and backed by the trustworthiness of those nations.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.