US applications for jobless benefits up modestly but remain at a healthy
level
[August 08, 2025] By
MATT OTT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits
rose modestly last week, a sign that employers still retaining workers
despite economic uncertainty related to U.S. trade policy.
Jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 2 rose by 7,000 to 226,000, the
Labor Department reported Thursday, slightly more than the 219,000 new
applications that economists had forecast.
The report is the first government labor market data release since
Friday’s grim July jobs report sent financial markets spiraling
downward, spurring President Donald Trump to fire the head of the agency
that tallies the monthly jobs numbers.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are seen as a proxy for U.S.
layoffs and have mostly settled in a historically healthy range between
200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 throttled the economy in the spring
of 2020.
It was just the second time in eight weeks that jobless benefit
applications rose.
While layoffs remain low by historical standards, there has been
noticeable deterioration in the labor market this year.
Last week, the government reported that U.S. employers added just 73,000
jobs in July, well short of the 115,000 expected. Worse, revisions to
the May and June jobs figures shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off
previous estimates and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from
4.1%.
“The ‘no hire/no fire’ theme in the labor market remains firmly intact,”
analysts for Jeffries wrote in a note to clients.

Many economists contend that Trump’s erratic tariff rollout in April
created uncertainty for employers, who have grown reluctant to expand
their payrolls.
Friday's grim jobs report raised the ire of Trump, who alleged that the
data was manipulated for political reasons and ordered the firing of
Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which
produces the monthly jobs figures.
The firing was roundly criticized by economists, who, along with Wall
Street investors, have long considered the job figures reliable. Stock
and bond markets often react sharply when they are released.
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A hiring sign is displayed at a retail store in Mount Prospect,
Ill., Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
 U.S. markets recoiled at last week’s
jobs report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling more
than 600 points on Friday.
The BLS does not contribute to the weekly unemployment benefits
report except to calculate the annual seasonal adjustments that
account for changes in weather, holidays, and school schedules.
The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration
collects the weekly unemployment insurance claims reported by each
state.
There was another indicator that the labor market is softening in a
government report last week that revealed employers posted 7.4
million job vacancies in June, down from 7.7 million in May. The
number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in
finding a better job — fell in June to the lowest level since
December. Hiring also fell from May.
Yet major companies have announced job cuts this year, including
Procter & Gamble, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines,
Microsoft, Google and Facebook parent company Meta. Most recently,
Intel and The Walt Disney Co. announced staff reductions.
The deadline on most of Trump’s stiff proposed taxes on imports
kicked in on Thursday, though some deals have been made and other
deadlines to negotiate have been extended. Unless Trump reaches
deals with countries to lower the tariffs, economists fear they
could act as a drag on the economy and spark another rise in
inflation.
Thursday's report also showed that the four-week average of claims,
which smooths out some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 500
to 220,750.
The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits for
the previous week of July 26 jumped by 38,000 to 1.97 million, the
highest level since November of 2021.
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