The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits is at its highest level in more than three years.
Applications for jobless benefits rose by 6,000 to 223,000 for the week ending Jan. 18, slightly more than analysts expected. The number of people who received unemployment benefits for the week of Jan. 11 climbed by 46,000 to 1.9 million, the most since November 2021.
Unemployment and jobless claims are still far from their all-time high in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, 23.1 million people received unemployment benefits, and the unemployment rate stood at 14.7%.
Rising continuing claims, the number of people collecting jobless benefits, suggests that some who receive unemployment benefits could find it harder to land new jobs. This means demand for workers is on a downturn.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Still, the economy remains strong. Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that job growth in December increased, with 256,000 jobs added that month. The unemployment rate also fell to 4.1%.
These figures suggest the economy is entering a post-COVID-19 period of steady growth, higher interest rates, low unemployment, and slightly elevated inflation.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
