Applications for unemployment benefits rebounded slightly after falling in the previous week to near the lowest levels in decades, signaling layoffs remain muted despite recent job-cut announcements.
Initial claims rose by 10,000 to 200,000 in the week ended May 2, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 205,000 applications.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, fell to 1.77 million in the previous week, a new two-year low.
Filings have remained subdued despite high-profile companies such as Meta Platforms Inc. and Nike Inc. announcing job cuts, indicating the labor market remains in the “low-hire, low-fire” state that has prevailed in recent years. The government’s April jobs report, due Friday, is expected to show the first back-to-back monthly increases in payrolls in almost a year.
A separate report Thursday showed announced job cuts continued to mount in the US technology sector last month, bringing the year-to-date total to a three-year high even as overall private-sector layoff announcements receded.
Fanzeres writes for Bloomberg.
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