Jobs & Unemployment

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits surged to the highest level in more than 1-1/2 years last week, but layoffs are probably not accelerating as the data covered the Memorial Day holiday,

In March, investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted in a report that AI could eventually replace 300 million full-time jobs globally and affect nearly one-fifth of employment — with a particular hit to white-collar jobs often considered automation-proof, such as administrative and legal professions.

The US labor market picked up momentum in May, once again defying expectations of a slowdown. But Federal Reserve officials are still likely to suspend rate hikes in their upcoming policy meeting because of broader trends pointing to a weakened economy later in the year.

The May jobs report released Friday provided a key look at the labor market's health amid the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate-hike campaign.

For months, employers have churned out jobs at a rate that has baffled economists. And the labor market has propelled the economy through a barrage of forces that would normally weigh on jobs creation.

U.S. hiring accelerated in May as employers added a booming 339,000 jobs and the labor market continued to shrug off high interest rates and persistent inflation.

The number of first-time claims for weekly jobless benefits fell last week to 242,000, down 22,000 from 264,000 the week before, according to data published Thursday by the Department of Labor.

Continuing claims, which are filed by people who have received jobless benefits for more than one week, dipped to 1.799 million for the week ended May 6 from a revised 1.807 million the week prior.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a 1-1/2-year high last week, pointing to widening cracks in the labor market, which together with subsiding inflation could allow the Federal Reserve to halt further interest rate increases next month.

far higher than the 187,000 market estimate.

The employment picture started off 2023 on a stunningly strong note, with nonfarm payrolls posting their biggest gain since July 2022.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 517,000 for January, above the Dow Jones estimate of 187,000 and December’s gain of 260,000, according to a Labor Department report Friday.

The numbers: Private payrolls rose by 106,000 in January, according to the payroll services firm ADP on Wednesday.  That is a significant drop from the revised 253,000 jobs added in December.

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a gain of 190,000 private sector jobs.

For 18 straight months, employers have posted at least 10 million openings—a level never reached before 2021 in Labor Department data going back to 2000. The number of openings in December means there were about two vacancies for every unemployed American.

About 50.5 million people quit their jobs in 2022, besting the prior record set in 2021, according to the federal JOLTS report.