Minneapolis
CNN
—
About 204,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That’s less than the previous week’s total jobless claims and only slightly below the pre-pandemic weekly average of 218,000.
Continuing claims filed by people who have been on unemployment benefits for more than a week fell from 1.72 million to 1.69 million in the week ended December 24.
Thursday’s data points to continued job market resilience despite the Federal Reserve’s anti-inflation efforts aimed at cooling the economy – which would normally weigh on jobs and lead to layoffs.
Many economists and investors fear the Fed’s aggressive actions, which have included seven consecutive jumbo rate hikes, could plunge the economy into recession. But so far the job market seems impenetrable.
“This is reason to be optimistic that the economy could work around a recession,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told CNN last week. “Without mass layoffs, consumers are unlikely to stop spending and the economy is unlikely to suffer a downturn.”
According to a consensus estimate by Refinitiv, economists had expected 225,000 initial applications.
Weekly jobless claims are volatile — especially around the holidays — and are revised frequently.
– CNN’s Matt Egan contributed to this report. This story is evolving and updated.
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