The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week and remains historically low as the labor market continues to show resiliency in the face of high interest rates and elevated inflation, according to the Associated Press.
The Labor Department reported today that the number of unemployment claims for the week ending April 27 was 208,000, the same as the previous week. That’s the fewest since mid-February. The four-week average of claims, which softens some of the weekly volatility, fell by 3,500 to 210,000.
Weekly unemployment claims are considered a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week and a sign of where the job market is headed.
Though layoffs remain at low levels, companies have been announcing more job cuts recently, mostly across technology and media. Outside of tech and media, Peloton also has recently cut jobs.
In total, 1.77 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended April 20 — also the same as the previous week.
