The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits decreased slightly last week, underscoring persistently low layoff rates across the United States. The Labor Department reported Thursday that U.S. applications for jobless aid for the week ending July 4 declined by 2,000 to 215,000, a figure lower than the 220,000 forecast by analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Weekly jobless claims are closely watched as an indicator of the U.S. job market's health. The recent data comes after the government's June jobs report showed employers added only 57,000 jobs, less than half the previous month's total, signaling continued caution among companies. The unemployment rate in June fell to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, attributed in part to individuals ceasing their job searches and thus no longer being counted as unemployed.
While the hiring slowdown in June followed a period of stronger job gains in prior months, it has raised some concerns. Hiring has been tapering since roughly two years ago, a trend attributed to factors including tariffs, reductions in federal employment, and the impact of high interest rates implemented to curb inflation. Companies such as Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks, Walmart, and most recently Microsoft, which announced 4,800 job cuts, have trimmed their workforces.
The four-week moving average of jobless claims, designed to smooth out weekly fluctuations, also fell, decreasing by 3,750 to 218,750. For the week ending June 27, the total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 to 1.81 million, which remains within historically healthy levels.