The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States increased slightly last week, but it is still at a historic low. This indicates that the labor market continues to perform strongly against the backdrop of high interest rates and stubborn inflation.
According to data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States for the week ending October 21 was 210000, higher than market expectations of 208000 and the previous value of 198000. In addition, the four-week average number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States as of October 21 was 207500, higher than the previous value of 205800. As of October 14th, the number of Americans continuing to apply for unemployment benefits for the week was 1.79 million, higher than the market expectation of 1.74 million and the previous value of 1.734 million.
In order to combat inflation, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 11 times since March 2022. The goal of the Federal Reserve is to cool down the economy and labor market, and to curb wage increases to avoid exacerbating inflation. However, the continued strength of the US labor market may force the Federal Reserve to maintain high interest rates for a longer period of time. Most analysts expect the Federal Reserve to maintain interest rates unchanged at next week's meeting in order to seek a soft landing for the economy.