US applications for jobless benefits fall again as labor market continues to defy the Fed actions

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The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell again last week as the labor market continues defy the Federal Reserve’s attempt to cool it by raising interest rates

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell again last week as the labor market continues defy the Federal Reserve’s attempt to cool it through higher interest rates.

U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 237,000 for the week ending July 8, from 249,000 previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out some of the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 6,750 to 246,750.

Jobless claim applications are seen as a proxy for the number of layoffs in a given week.

Overall, 1.73 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended July 1, 11,000 fewer than the previous week.

For three weeks in late May and early June, jobless claims had appeared to reach a sustained, higher level, above 260,000. Even so, that increase may not have been enough for Fed officials to pivot from raising its main rate at its next meeting.

The U.S. economy has added jobs at a frenetic pace since more than 20 million jobs vanished when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the spring of 2020. Americans have enjoyed unusual job security with companies reluctant to shed staff in a worker-friendly labor environment.

U.S. employers continue to add jobs at a healthy pace each month, often surprising economists and painting a mostly encouraging picture of the labor market and its current 3.6% unemployment rate. Fed officials have said that the unemployment rate needs to rise well past 4% to bring inflation down.

For the most part, the U.S. economy has been been resilient in the face