US weekly jobless claims rise marginally

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, consistent with gradually easing labor market conditions.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 219,000 for the week ended February 1, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 213,000 claims for the latest week.

Labor market resilience is the driving force behind the economic expansion and has given the Federal Reserve room to pause interest rate cuts while policymakers assess the impact of the fiscal, trade and immigration policies of President Donald Trump's administration, which economists view as inflationary.

The U.S. central bank left its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged in the 4.25%-4.50% range last month, having reduced it by 100 basis points since September, when it embarked on its policy easing cycle. The policy rate was hiked by 5.25 percentage points in 2022 and 2023 to tame inflation.

Low layoffs are underpinning the labor market, though work opportunities are becoming more scarce for those who are unemployed. The government reported on Tuesday that there were 1.1 job openings for every unemployed person in December, down from 1.15 in November.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, increased 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.886 million during the week ending Jan. 25, the claims report showed.

Though business sentiment perked up in the aftermath of Trump's victory in November, hiring plans have remained lackluster amid expectations that demand will slow this year because of still-restrictive monetary policy and high prices from tariffs.

A report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday showed U.S. employers announced plans to hire 6,089 workers in January, down 24% from December. Plans were up 13% from January 2024, which was the lowest January on record.

The claims data have no bearing on January's employment report, scheduled for release on Friday, as they fall outside the survey period. Frigid temperatures and wildfires in California are expected to have held back job growth last month.

Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 170,000 jobs after surging 256,000 in December, a Reuters survey of economists showed. The unemployment rate is forecast unchanged at 4.1%.

The government will also publish its annual payrolls benchmark revision and introduce new population weights to the household survey, from which the unemployment rate is derived.