The reading marks the lowest number of jobless claims since February and shows the labor market is still hot, even as the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates high and teases another upward rate revision.Jobless claims are seen as a proxy for layoffs — if few people are claiming unemployment insurance, it suggests not many workers are getting laid off.
The Fed has raised its interest rate target to 5.25% to 5.50%, the highest since the dot-com bubble at the turn of the century. The biggest question now is whether the Fed will hike rates one more time this year or pause and start cutting sometime down the line. The prevailing thought among investors is that the central bank won’t raise rates again at its meeting later this month, although it might opt to hike again later this year if the data show inflation is still stubbornly sticky.