Jobless claims climb to 7-week high. Layoffs still low, but labor market might be cooling.

The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose by 5,000 to a seven-week high of 217,000, suggesting some softening in a sturdy U.S. labor market.Claims still show a very low number of job losses, however, and point to a stable economy. Unemployment claims usually top 300,000 — and eventually go a lot higher — when a recession approaches.

The number of raw or actual claims — that is, before seasonal adjustments — posted a smaller increase and remained under 200,000 for the 11th week in a row. That’s an extremely low level. While that’s still a low number, it’s been rising since early September. That could be a sign it’s taking longer for people to find new jobs, which would be further evidence of a slowdown in hiring.Businesses aren’t adding as many new jobs as they were last year, to be sure. Yet they are holding onto most employees and not laying many people off in light of the biggest U.S. labor market shortage since World War Two.

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