WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, hinting at some cooling in the labor market, though conditions remain tight.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended June 11, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 applications for the latest week.
The decline partially reversed the prior week’s jump, which had lifted filings close to a five-month high, and was blamed on seasonal fluctuations around moving holidays like Memorial Day.
Despite reports of job cuts mostly in the technology and housing sectors amid cooling demand and worries of a recession next year, claims have been locked in a tight range since plunging to a more than a 53-year low of 166,000 in March.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its policy interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, the biggest hike since 1994. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that “the labor market has remained extremely tight,” and that “labor demand is very strong.”
The Fed has increased the overnight rate by 150 basis points since March. There were 11.4 million job openings at end of April. The claims report showed the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 3,000 to 1.312 million during the week ending June 4.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
