Archive · 18 Dec 2025
US jobless claims fall, labor market shows strain
Last week, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the US went down by 13,000 to 224,000.
This is a sign of how many people are losing their jobs.
Even though the number went down, it's still higher than what experts thought it would be.
The US added 64,000 jobs in November, but in October, there were 105,000 fewer jobs, mostly because of cuts in government jobs.
The unemployment rate is now 4.6%, which is the highest it's been since 2021.
The Federal Reserve, which controls interest rates, cut rates again because they think the job market might be weaker than the numbers show.
Big companies like UPS and Amazon have also been cutting jobs, but these cuts might not show up in the official numbers right away.
US weekly jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 224,000 for the week ending December 13, down from 237,000 a week earlier.
The figure remains within the range seen over the past few years, though it was higher than economists’ forecast of 200,000 claims.
The US added 64,000 jobs in November, while payrolls fell by 105,000 in October due to federal job cuts.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November, the highest level since 2021.
The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point for the third consecutive meeting, citing concerns about labor market conditions.
- Who
- US Labor Department, Federal Reserve, economists, large companies (UPS, General Motors, Amazon, Verizon)
- What
- Weekly jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 224,000, labor market shows signs of strain
- When
- Week ending December 13, data released on Thursday
- Where
- United States
- Why
- To monitor labor market conditions and economic trends
- Weekly jobless claims
- 224,000 (down 13,000 from previous week)
- Economists' forecast
- 200,000 claims
- November job additions
- 64,000
- October payrolls decline
- 105,000 (driven by 162,000 federal job losses)
- Unemployment rate
- 4.6% (highest since 2021)
- Four-week moving average of jobless claims
- 217,500 (up 500 from previous week)
- Continuing claims
- 1.9 million (up 67,000 from previous week)
- Federal Reserve rate cut
- Quarter percentage point (third consecutive meeting)