Topline
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits declined suddenly last week, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, a turnaround from an increase the previous week after nearly a month of declining jobless claims through the holiday season.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose earlier this month after weeks of declines.
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Key Facts
Unemployment benefit applications totaled 198,000 last week, the Labor Department reported, down 9,000 from the previous week’s revised-down total of 207,000 and well below analysts’ estimates of 215,000, according to FactSet.
A weekly decline follows an uptick of roughly 8,000 the previous week, following three straight weeks of declines through December.
Continuing jobless claims—Americans already receiving benefits—declined to 1.88 million from 1.9 million.
What To Watch For
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will report delayed data for the core consumption expenditures price index for November and October on Jan. 22. The data, considered the Federal Reserve’s preferred reading on inflation, will indicate how consumer spending was affected late last year after spending slowed for the second straight month through September. The agency last reported annual inflation was 2.8% in the month, meeting Wall Street’s expectations, while other federal data indicated inflation had cooled slightly through December.
Key Background
Jobless claims, a weekly federal report providing insight into layoffs across the U.S., steadily declined through the holiday season late last year. Consecutive weeks of declines added to other signs of a stabilizing labor market following months of growing concerns among Americans for job availability. The unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.4% in December as the U.S. added 50,000 nonfarm jobs in the month, lower than what economists projected, but still another monthly increase after 105,000 jobs were shed in October.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2026/01/15/new-unemployment-claims-dropped-unexpectedly-last-week/
