American workers continue to have job security amid economic instability caused by global trade, even if the number of people applying for unemployment benefits increased last week.
In the week ending May 24, the Labor Department reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits increased by 14,000, reaching 240,000. A total of 226,000 fresh applications were anticipated by analysts.
As a measure of layoffs in the United States, weekly applications for unemployment benefits have remained relatively stable between 250,000 and 200,000 since the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 stifled the economy and eliminated millions of jobs.
After a federal court prevented President Trump from putting hefty tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers statute, financial markets were filled with relief early Thursday. The worldwide financial markets, trade partners, and the economy have all been spooked by Trump’s trademark economic agenda, which has caused inflation worries and a collapse in the economy. Wednesday’s decision cast doubt on this program.
No time wasted as the Trump administration swiftly filed notice of appeal, nearly guaranteeing that the matter would be brought before the Supreme Court for a decision. Whether the Trump administration will temporarily halt all of its emergency electricity tariffs in response to the verdict is still up in the air.
Even though Trump has scaled down or halted a number of his tariff threats, worries about a worldwide economic downturn disrupting a strong U.S. job market persisted.
Following three cuts at year’s end, the Federal Reserve maintained its benchmark lending rate at 4.3% in early May, marking the third consecutive meeting in this range.
In an uncommon combination that affects the central bank’s twin duty of managing prices and keeping unemployment low, Fed head Jerome Powell warned that the prospects for both increased unemployment and inflation are considerable. According to Powell, tariffs have reduced optimism among both consumers and businesses.
The government revised its first estimate of the U.S. economy’s first-quarter 2025 contraction slightly higher, reporting a 0.2% annual pace of decline on Thursday. U.S. businesses attempted to import foreign goods before Trump’s huge tariffs went into force, which led to an increase in imports and slowed growth.
By significantly raising import duties, Trump hopes to reinvigorate the American industrial sector and alter the course of the global economy.
A number of Trump’s attempts to significantly reduce the size of the federal government workforce are now facing legal and legislative challenges.
The labor market has been exhibiting signs of weakening over the last year, but it is still strong overall, with many jobs available and few layoffs.
U.S. firms added a solid 177,000 jobs in April, according to the government, while the unemployment rate remained at a respectable 4.2%.
Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, are among the companies that have announced layoffs this year.
On Thursday, the Labor Department said that there was a 250 to 230,750 point decrease in the four-week average of unemployment claims. This figure smooths out the fluctuations that occur during more unpredictable periods from week to week.
There was a 26,000 rise to 1.92 million people receiving unemployment benefits for the week ending May 17, the highest figure since November 20, 2021.
