The number of Americans applying for jobless aid slips to 203,000 as layoffs remain low

WASHINGTON (AP) —

The number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining at historic lows as layoffs are rare and most Americans enjoy job security.

Jobless claims slipped to 203,000 last week from a revised 207,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, ticked up slightly to 205,500.

Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can provide early clues of where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly been at a historically low range of around 200,000 to 230,000 a week.

The U.S. economy and job market have proved resilient in the face of high gasoline prices caused by the fighting with Iran. The U.S. unemployment rate is low at 4.1%. That is partly because President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and the ongoing retirement of baby boomers mean that fewer people are competing for jobs: More than 1.3 million people have dropped out of the U.S. labor force over the past year.

Companies, scarred by the surprise worker shortages that followed the end of COVID-19 lockdowns, are reluctant to let go of staff. But they aren’t hiring much either. So times are tough for Americans seeking to break into the job market and those who lost their jobs and are looking for new work. Economists describe a “no hire, no fire″ job market.

So far this year, employers — companies, nonprofits and government agencies — have added an average 61,000 jobs a month. That is an improvement on the 9,700 they averaged last year — the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002 — when the lingering effects of high interest rates and Trump’s erratic trade policies discouraged companies from hiring.

When the Labor Department puts out the August jobs report next week, it’s expected to show that employers added another 65,000 jobs, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.