\n New applications for unemployment benefits haven\u2019t been this low since 1969, fresh data showed Thursday.\n <\/p>\n
\n The number of first-time filings for unemployment benefits tumbled last week by 22,000 to an estimated 187,000 claims, marking the lowest seasonally adjusted tally since September 1969, according to the Department of Labor.\n <\/p>\n
\n Jobless claims data can be highly volatile and is frequently revised (the latest number, for example, could be reflecting summer maintenance shutdowns at auto plants); however, it also can provide a timelier snapshot of shifts occurring in the labor market, which has seen a slowdown in hiring as well as in job cuts.\n <\/p>\n
\n First-time claims are closely watched as a proxy for layoff activity, which appears to be subdued, Oliver Allen, senior US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, noted Thursday.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cLeading indicators \u2013 such as the Challenger job cuts series and WARN advance layoff notices \u2013 point to little change in the near term,\u201d Allen wrote.\n <\/p>\n
\n The US labor market\u2019s low-hire, low-fire environment also has made it harder for people to find work.\n <\/p>\n
\n Last year, the number of continuing claims, which are made by people who filed for unemployment insurance for a week or more, was consistently butting up against four-year highs.\n <\/p>\n
\n They\u2019ve moderated somewhat in the first half of this year.\n <\/p>\n
\n Thursday\u2019s Labor Department report showed that continuing claims filings inched down by 2,000 to just under 1.8 million for the week that ended on July 11 (continuing claims data lags by a week). Continuing claims have trended at this level for about three months.\n <\/p>\n
\n The job market has been contending with a slew of headwinds recently. Rampant uncertainty<\/a>, a lasting hangover from pandemic-era overhiring<\/a>, plus the rise of AI<\/a> and a cocktail of other economic concerns \u2013 persistently high inflation<\/a>, elevated interest rates<\/a> and a shrinking labor force<\/a> \u2013 have stifled businesses\u2019 expansion plans and put hiring on ice.\n <\/p>\n \n Last year\u2019s job growth was one of the weakest on record, with employers adding fewer than 10,000 jobs per month.\n <\/p>\n