Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs in the U.S. remain low despite uncertainty about how tariffs will impact the economy
ByMATT OTT AP business writer
Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs in the U.S. remain low despite uncertainty about how tariffs will impact the economy.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending June 28 fell by 4,000 to 233,000, less than the 241,000 that analysts forecast. Applications for unemployment aid are considered a proxy for layoffs.
In a separate report Thursday, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 147,000 jobs in June, a sign that the American labor market continues to show surprising resilience despite uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s economic policies. The job gains were much bigger than expected and the unemployment rate ticked down 4.1% from 4.2% in May. Analysts had forecast that unemployment would rise to 4.3%.
While layoffs remain historically low, many companies have announced job cuts this year, including Procter & Gamble, Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, and Facebook parent company Meta.
On Wednesday, Microsoft announced that it is laying off about 9,000 workers, its second mass layoff in months and its largest in more than