Applications for unemployment benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and viewed with other employment data, shows that American workers are enjoying extraordinary job security at the moment, despite an economy with some glaring weaknesses.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since August but still remains low by historic standards.
Despite the rate’s increase, the state gained 6,900 private-sector jobs last month, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development reported.
The report suggests demand for workers remains robust despite rapid interest-rate hikes and a darkening economic outlook. Layoffs, while rising, are still historically low, and competition to fill millions of vacant positions has driven rapid wage gains.
All eyes will now turn to the Labor Department’s October jobs report Friday, the last peek at the state of the economy ahead of the midterm elections.
September was the 12th consecutive month in which Indiana had an unemployment rate below 3%.
The pickup in claims—if sustained—would suggest lackluster spending in various sectors and uncertainty about the economy’s prospects are prompting some businesses to lay off workers.
U.S. job openings plummeted in August, likely a welcome sign for Federal Reserve officials as they seek to cool demand for workers without triggering a spike in unemployment.
Applications for U.S. unemployment insurance dropped unexpectedly to a five-month low, suggesting robust demand for workers amid economic uncertainty.
The Federal Reserve will have to keep boosting its benchmark interest rate to a point that raises unemployment and gets inflation down from unusually high levels, two officials said in separate remarks Monday.
An estimated 95,096 Hoosiers are currently unemployed and seeking jobs, the state reported Friday. That’s up from 87,889 in July.
Jobless claims have been dropping as employers are still trying to fill millions of open positions and retain the workers they already have.
Hiring in the U.S. in 2022 has been remarkably strong even as the country faces rising interest rates and weak economic growth.
The increase that the government reported Tuesday will be a disappointment for Federal Reserve officials, who are seeking to cool hiring by raising short-term interest rates to try to slow borrowing and spending, which tend to fuel inflation.
The number of Americans collecting traditional unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 the week that ended Aug. 13, to 1.42 million.
The state’s labor force participation rate also rose slightly, to 63.3% in July, remaining higher than the national rate, which ticked down to 62.1%.
The number of Americans collecting traditional unemployment benefits increased by 7,000 the week that ended Aug. 6, to 1.43 million. That’s the most since early April.
Applications for jobless aid have risen in five out of the last six weeks, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Applications for jobless aid for the week ending July 30 rose by 6,000, to 260,000, from the previous week’s 254,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, but the previous week’s number was revised upward significantly, with claims breaching the 250,000 level in back-to-back weeks for the first time in more than eight months.
