?States reported that 186,000 workers filed for new unemployment benefits during the week ending Jan. 21, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level. Weekly jobless claims are at their lowest level since April 2022. The number of workers continuing to claim unemployment benefits—1.6 million—is below pre-pandemic levels.
Unemployment claims have consistently held at low levels, even as layoffs have accelerated in the technology sector and interest rate-sensitive fields like finance and housing. Economists say that the recently announced layoffs at tech firms like Amazon, Google and Microsoft are due to over-hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also believed that companies overall are reluctant to let workers go after having difficulties finding talent during the pandemic.