Lowest Weekly Jobless Claims Recorded Since September 2022

By Maggie Last updated Jan 18, 2024

The labor market showed no hope in the first week of 2024, with initial jobless claims falling to the lowest level since Sept. 24, 2022, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s report on Thursday. Initial jobless claims totaled 187,000 in the week ending Jan. 13, down 16,000 from the previous week and above Dow Jones’ estimate of 208,000.

Despite the Fed’s efforts to slow down the economy, especially by increasing interest rates, this effort was ineffective. Central bank policymakers see supply-demand imbalances between businesses and employers as the main cause of the highest inflation in more than 40 years.

However, with weekly unemployment losses, unemployment losses decreased by 26,000 people. Regular requests are delayed by one week. Total filings reached 1.806 million, below the FactSet forecast of 1.83 million.

“Business owners are hiring fewer workers each month, but they’re still keeping them,” said Robert Frick, business advisor at Navy Federal Credit Union.

In other economic news, Philadelphia Fed, January manufacturing He reported his reading as -10.6; This indicates a difference between companies reporting growth and contraction. While this is an improvement from December, it’s still below the Dow Jones’ -7 forecast. The report showed that product returns, delivery time, and total stock decreased, while the performance index increased slightly but remained negative at -1.8.

Another report showed housing prospects; Construction permits rose 1.9% month-on-month to 1.48 million, slightly above expectations, at 1.495 million. However, housing starts fell 4.3% month-on-month to 1.46 million, compared to the forecast of 1.43 million.

The report follows the Fed’s beige book summary that showed little change in the economy since November, with a cooling economy and higher interest rates limiting housing.

In separate economic data released Thursday, the Labor Department reported that Americans’ initial jobless claims fell to a level not seen since the fall of 2022. The number of initial applications for unemployment insurance in the week ending January 13 was 187,000. It reached the lowest level since September 24, 2022, and was below the expectations of businessmen.

A report by Challenger, Gray, and Christmas found that the number of CEO errors at American companies reached a record 1,914 in 2023, an increase from 2022. 55%. This is more than the previous record in 2019 and reflects the response to unprecedented challenges, including the pandemic. provides chain shocks and inadequate performance.

Economists pointed out that although weekly demand data changed, the market remained stable. US economist Matthew Martin from Oxford Economics mentioned that progress has been made in balancing supply and demand without major disruptions. However, it was stated that we are cautious about possible impacts such as severe weather effects and a clear picture will emerge in the coming months.