A hiring sign beckons potential employees to apply for work inside a discount store Wednesday, April 3, 2024, in Centennial, Colo. On Thursday, April 11, 2024, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. – Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite the Federal Reserve's efforts to cool it.
Weekly unemployment claims are considered a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week and a sign of where the job market is headed. They have remained at historically low levels since the pandemic purge of millions of jobs in the spring of 2020. Many economists thought there was a chance the rapid rate hikes could tip the country into recession, but jobs have remained plentiful and the economy has held up better than expected thanks to strong consumer spending.