The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week but remained at slightly elevated — though not troubling — levels, according to the Associated Press.
Jobless claims for the week of Aug. 3 fell by 17,000 to 233,000, the Labor Department reported today. That’s fewer than the 240,000 analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.
Continuing claims, which represent the total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits, rose by 6,000 to 1.88 million for the week of July 27. That’s the most since the week of Nov. 27, 2021.
Weekly unemployment claims are widely considered representative of layoffs, and though they have trended higher recently, they remain at historically healthy levels.
Today’s report also said that the four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 2,500 to 240,750.
There have been job cuts across a range of sectors this year, from agricultural manufacturer Deere, to media outlets like CNN, and elsewhere.
