Investing.com - The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits edged marginally higher last week, suggesting ongoing resilience in the U.S. labor market despite possible headwinds looming from escalating trade tensions and a Trump administration push to downsize the federal government.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for hiring, inched up to 223,000 in the week ended on March 15, increasing from an upwardly-revised mark of 221,000, according to Labor Department data on Thursday. Economists had seen the figure at 224,000.
The four-week moving average, which aims to account for fluctuations in the weekly number, came in at 227,000, compared to the previous mark of 226,250.
Claims have been hovering roughly in the middle of a 203,000-242,000 range so far in 2025, while hiring has eased and layoffs have stayed subdued.
Analysts have been on the lookout for signs that a drive by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency to slash the federal workforce is denting the wider labor market. A separate report on unemployment compensation for federal employees, which has a one-week lag, has shown little change from the mass firings.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s tariff plans have raised fears over a resurgence in inflationary pressures and a slowdown in the U.S. economy -- both of which could weigh on business sentiment.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve left its benchmark overnight interest rate unaltered at 4.25% to 4.5% and noted that it will take a wait-and-see approach to future policy decisions due to uncertainty around the impact of Trump’s tariffs. But Fed Chair Jerome Powell said labor conditions in the U.S. are "broadly in balance."
Following the release of the jobless claims data, U.S. stock futures were lower.