By Bryan Mena

Workers filings for unemployment benefits held nearly steady last week, showing that the broader labor market remains robust despite large companies announcing layoffs.

Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, decreased slightly by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The level of claims fluctuated earlier this month, in part due to school closures, but broadly remains historically low. The four-week average of weekly claims, which smooths out volatility in the weekly numbers, edged lower last week to 196,250.

Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of ongoing unemployment-benefits payments, increased by 14,000 to 1.69 million in the week ended March 11. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag.

Write to Bryan Mena at bryan.mena@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2023 09:02 ET (13:02 GMT)

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