Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

US applications for jobless benefits fall again as labor market continues to defy the Fed actions

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell again last week as the labor market continues defy the Federal Reserve’s attempt to cool it by raising interest rates

Matt Ott
Thursday 13 July 2023 08:37 EDT
Unemployment Benefits
Unemployment Benefits (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell again last week as the labor market continues defy the Federal Reserve’s attempt to cool it by raising interest rates.

U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 237,000 for the week ending July 8, from 249,000 previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out some of the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 6,750 to 246,750.

Jobless claim applications are seen as a proxy for the number of layoffs in a given week.

Overall, 1.73 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended July 1, 11,000 fewer than the previous week.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in