Jobless Claims Remain ‘Relatively Subdued’ Despite Businesses’ Tariff Concerns

Businesses may be feeling cautious because of uncertainty around tariffs, but they are generally not laying off workers.

While the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance in the United States rose during the week ended Saturday (April 19), it remained “relatively subdued” and pointed to a resilient labor market, according to Thursday (April 24) reports by Bloomberg and Reuters.

The number of jobless claims rose by 6,000 during the week to reach 222,000, up from the previous week’s revised level of 216,000, the Department of Labor said in a Thursday press release.

The four-week moving average declined by 750 and was gauged at 220,250, down from the previous week’s revised number of 221,000, according to the release.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that the increase was in line with economists’ forecasts and reflects a “stable labor market.”

Despite uncertainty around tariffs and the economic outlook, new claims have remained “relatively subdued” for eight weeks, the report said.

Reuters also reported Thursday that the labor market remained “resilient” despite concerns about the impact of tariffs.

The week’s initial claims were in line with the expectations of economists surveyed by Reuters.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday (April 23) in the latest installment of its Beige Book that five of its 12 central bank districts reported improvements in the job market while three reported worse conditions. Four reported neutral or mixed signals.

The Department of Labor also reported Thursday that the number of insured unemployment dropped by 37,000 during the week ended April 12. It fell to 1,841,000, down from the previous week’s revised level of 1,878,000.

The insured unemployment rate remained at 1.2%, unchanged from the previous week, according to the release.

California had the greatest decrease in initial claims during the week ended April 12, with 3,296 fewer claims. The state did not submit comments about the reason for the change to the Department of Labor.

Among the four states that had the biggest increases in initial claims during that week, three attributed the rise to layoffs in the manufacturing sector. Those states — Kentucky, Missouri and Michigan — saw increases of 4,292, 1,974 and 1,012, respectively.

Pennsylvania, which saw 1,858 more initial claims during the week ended April 12, told the Department of Labor it saw layoffs in three industries: construction; transportation and warehousing; and administrative and support and waste management and remediation services.