June hiring slowed to 57,000, report says employers remain cautious
The 187,000 reading marks the lowest level of weekly jobless claims in nearly 57 years, according to Labor Department data that extends back to 1969. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and serve as a near-real-time indicator of labor market health.
The Labor Department reported that the number of Americans applying for jobless benefits in the week ending July 18 declined by 22,000 to 187,000, the fewest since the week ending Sept. 6, 1969. The figure came in well below the 215,000 new applications that analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast.
The June employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released earlier this month, painted a more cautious picture on the hiring side. Employers added just 57,000 jobs, less than half the previous month’s total, according to the government data. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though the AP reported the decline was mostly because many out-of-work people gave up looking for jobs and were no longer counted as unemployed.
The broader U-6 underemployment measure, which includes discouraged workers and those working part-time involuntarily, stood at 7.9% in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
MSI previously reported that jobless claims fell to 208,000 for the week ending July 11, the lowest level in 10 weeks at that point.