According to data published this Thursday by the Department of Labor, weekly unemployment claims in the United States increased by only 1,000 during the first week of August to reach a seasonal 199,000, a figure that is below the expectations of economists, who expected an increase of 202,000 claims.
Although the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits was slightly high, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicated that the layoff rate also fell to its lowest level in July, even though the unemployment rate still remains above 4%.
For its part, earlier this week the Department of Labor also revealed that job offers have fallen to 7.4 million from the 7.5 million registered in May, that is, that the pace of hiring has slowed in recent weeks amid economic and geopolitical tensions that since February have generated great uncertainty in the markets.
However, global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas mentioned in its most recent report that during the month of July there was a 27% decrease in planned job cuts by US employers, and compared to the previous year, announced layoffs fell 41% this year.
For Oliver Allen, senior economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, “weak labor force growth is likely pushing companies to squeeze a little more out of their current workforce,” he told Reuters.
Finally, while awaiting official employment data for this Friday, August 7, the payroll processing firm ADP indicated in its report this Wednesday that the private sector created 44,000 jobs during the month of July, a figure lower than the 95,000 jobs reported in June.
