U.S. Jobless Claims Fell 1K to 191K in March 18 Week
March 23 2023 - 09:17AM
Dow Jones News
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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