The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in four months. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 218,000 for the week of Sept. 21.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in four months.
The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of weekly volatility, fell by 3,500 to 224,750.Weekly filings for unemployment benefits have fallen two straight weeks after rising modestly higher starting in late spring. Though still at historically healthy levels, the recent increase in jobless claims and other labor market data signaled that high interest rates may finally be taking a toll on the labor market.
It was the Fed’s first rate cut in four years after a series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 pushed the federal funds rate to a two-decade high of 5.3%. During the first four months of 2024, applications for jobless benefits averaged just 213,000 a week before rising in May. They hit 250,000 in late July, supporting the notion that high interest rates were finally cooling a red-hot U.S. job market.
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