US weekly jobless claims decline as layoffs remain low

The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits declined last week as layoffs remained low, which could help to allay fears that the labor market was deteriorating.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000 for the week ended Aug. 31, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims for the latest week.

Claims had been bouncing around the 230,000 level since pulling back from an 11-month high in late July as seasonal distortions from the automobile industry and Hurricane Beryl faded. They continue to show no signs of labor market deterioration even as job openings dropped to a 3-1/2-year low in July.

The Federal Reserve's "Beige Book" report on Wednesday described employment levels as "generally flat to up slightly in recent weeks." It noted that "a few (Fed) districts reported that firms reduced shifts and hours, left advertised positions unfilled, or reduced headcounts through attrition, though accounts of layoffs remained rare." It added, however, that "candidates faced increasing difficulties and longer times to secure a job."

The labor market slowdown, marked by a big step-down in hiring, has put a 50-basis-point interest rate cut on the table at the US central bank's Sept. 17-18 meeting.

Economists, however, believe the US central bank will kick off its easing cycle with a quarter-percentage-point rate reduction because domestic demand remains solid.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, decreased 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.838 million during the week ending Aug. 24, the claims report showed.

The so-called continued claims are near levels last seen in late 2021, consistent with longer bouts of unemployment.

The claims data has no bearing on the employment report for August, which is scheduled to be released on Friday, as it falls outside the survey period.

Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 160,000 jobs last month after rising by 114,000 in July, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The unemployment rate is forecast to slip to 4.2 per cent from nearly a three-year high of 4.3 per cent in July.