US weekly jobless claims increase marginally as labour market stabilises

[WASHINGTON] The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits increased marginally last week and the unemployment rate appeared to hold steady in February amid a stable labour market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 4,000 to a seasonally 212,000 for the week ended February 21, the Labor Department said on Thursday (Feb 26). Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 claims for the latest week.

Last week’s claims included the Presidents’ Day holiday, which could have impacted the data. Nonetheless, the level of claims suggested that the labour market continued to stabilise after hitting a soft patch last year amid uncertainty stemming from President Donald Trump’s broad tariffs.

The US Supreme Court last Friday struck down the tariffs, which Trump pursued under a law meant for use in national emergencies. Trump swiftly imposed a 10 per cent global tariff for 150 days to replace some of the emergency duties, before raising the rate to 15 per cent over the weekend.

Economists said the latest moves created near-term uncertainty, but anticipated minimal economic impact.

Lingering uncertainty from the since-invalidated import duties was blamed for a general hesitancy among businesses to increase hiring. A rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is also adding another layer of caution, economists said.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, dropped 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.833 million during the week ended February 14, the claims report showed. The so-called continuing claims covered the period during which the government surveyed households for February’s unemployment rate.

The jobless rate eased to 4.3 per cent in January from 4.4 per cent in December. While the labour market is regaining its footing, consumers remain anxious about their employment prospects.

A survey from the Conference Board this week showed the share of consumers who viewed jobs as “hard to get” increased to a five-year high in February, though households also believed the availability of jobs had improved.

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US consumer confidence rises on stronger prospects for jobs

The median duration of unemployment is near four-year highs, and job opportunities remain scarce for young college graduates, labour market data shows.

Jobless recent college graduates do not show in the claims data because they have limited or no work history, making them ineligible to file for unemployment benefits. REUTERS