Jobs/Employment

Weekly U.S. Jobless Claims Fall As Labor Market Continues To Improve

According to the Labor Department, jobless claims dropped by 15,000 to 214,000 for the week ending March 12.

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Lynne Sladky / AP
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Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs continue to fall amid a strong job market rebound.

Jobless claims fell by 15,000 to 214,000 for the week ending March 12, down from the previous week's 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications for jobless aid generally track the pace of layoffs.

In total, 1.4 million Americans — a 50-year low — were collecting jobless aid the week that ended March 5. That's down 71,000 from the week before that.

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In total, 1,419,000 Americans — a 50-year low — were collecting jobless aid the week that ended March 5, down 71,000 from the week before that.

Earlier this month, the government reported that employers added a robust 678,000 jobs in February, the largest monthly total since July. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.8%, from 4% in January, extending a sharp decline in joblessness to its lowest level since before the pandemic erupted two years ago.

U.S. businesses posted a near-record level of open jobs in January — 11.3 million — a trend that has helped pad workers’ pay and added to inflationary pressures.

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The Federal Reserve launched a high-risk effort Wednesday to tame the worst inflation since the early 1980s, raising its benchmark short-term interest rate and signaling up to six additional rate hikes this year.

The central bank’s policymakers expect inflation to remain elevated, ending 2022 at 4.3%, according to quarterly projections they released Wednesday.

Last week, the government reported that consumer inflation jumped 7.9% over the past year, the sharpest spike since 1982.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.