WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to still-low layoffs, though the labor market is struggling to generate enough jobs for those out of work amid lingering economic uncertainty.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 for the week ended November 22, the Labor Department said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week.
The report was released a day early because of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Economists say President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade and immigration policies had created an environment where businesses are reluctant to lay off or hire more workers, leading to what they and policymakers call a “no hire, no fire” labor market.
But some companies, including Amazon, are stepping up job cuts as they integrate artificial intelligence into some roles. Economists expect these job cuts could show up in the claims data next year, though filings have not always in the past increased in tandem with announced layoffs.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, increased 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.960 million during the week ending November 15, the claims report showed. The so-called continuing claims covered the period during which the government surveyed households for November’s unemployment rate.
The government has extended the data collection period for November’s employment report, including for nonfarm payrolls, following the recently ended 43-day shutdown.
November’s employment report will be released on December 16, and will include October nonfarm payrolls. There will be no unemployment rate for October as the longest shutdown in history prevented the collection of the household survey data.
The government reported last week that the unemployment rate increased to 4.4% in September from 4.3% in August.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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