?States reported that 190,000 workers filed for new unemployment benefits during the week ending Feb. 25, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level. The number of workers continuing to claim unemployment benefits fell to 1.65 million, which is considered within the normal range.
The labor market overall remains resilient despite Federal Reserve efforts to raise interest rates in an attempt to bring down inflation. There were 11 million open jobs at the end of December, or 1.9 jobs for every unemployed person, and the unemployment rate for January was an historically low 3.4 percent.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release updated data on the number of open jobs on Wednesday and the unemployment rate on Friday of next week.