Weekly initial jobless claims dropped 9,000 to 215,000, reaching their lowest point since early February and staying historically low. Meanwhile, continuing unemployment claims increased by 41,000 to 1.885 million.
What’s the bottom line?
New unemployment filings have been subdued in recent weeks, likely because many companies are adopting a cautious “wait and see” approach amid economic uncertainty.
However, continuing claims have consistently stayed above 1.8 million since last June, indicating longer job searches for unemployed workers. With many individuals now exhausting their 26-week benefit period, these persistently high continuing claim numbers signal underlying weakness in the labor market and a generally slower hiring pace.