The number of applicants for unemployment benefits rose last week in the United States, but layoffs remained at record low levels despite efforts by the Federal Reserve to cool the economy and reduce hiring to curb inflation.
Jobless claims for the week ending Feb. 4 increased by 13,000 to 196,000, compared with 183,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
For the fourth week in a row, the figure was below 200,000.
The claims are often a proxy for layoffs, which have been relatively rare since the pandemic wiped out millions of jobs in the first half of 2020.
The four-week moving average, which partially eliminates weekly volatility, fell 2,500 to 189,250. It is the third week in a row that the four-week moving average has been below 200,000 and the ninth week in a row of decline.
Last week, the Fed raised its main lending rate by 25 basis points, the eighth increase in less than a year. The central bank’s reference rate is in a band of 4.5% to 4.75%, the highest in 15 years. Chairman Jerome Powell seemed to hint that he expects two more quarter-point hikes.
So far, the Fed’s hawkish policy has curbed inflation, but its impact on the resilient labor market has been less.
Last Friday, the government reported that 517,000 jobs were created in January and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, the lowest since 1969. Analysts expected around 185,000 new jobs.
The job gain last month was so high it confounded economists, who struggled to explain why the Fed’s rate hikes haven’t slowed hiring when many predict a looming recession.
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