© 2024 KPCW

KPCW
Spencer F. Eccles Broadcast Center
PO Box 1372 | 460 Swede Alley
Park City | UT | 84060
Office: (435) 649-9004 | Studio: (435) 655-8255

Music & Artist Inquiries: music@kpcw.org
News Tips & Press Releases: news@kpcw.org
Volunteer Opportunities
General Inquiries: info@kpcw.org
Listen Like a Local Park City & Heber City Summit & Wasatch counties, Utah
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Jobless Claims Were Nearly Unchanged Last Week

There were 339,000 first-time claims filed for unemployment insurance last week, down slightly from 341,000 the week before, the Employment and Training Administration says.

According to The Associated Press, the slight decline is "evidence that layoffs are low and hiring will likely remain steady."

Bloomberg News focuses on the fact that claims dipped "to the lowest level in a month as the volatility typical during the year-end holidays waned."

This is the only glimpse into the labor market's health we'll get this week. Most months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' data on the unemployment rate and job growth are released on the first Friday. But because of the holidays, the December report won't be ready until Jan. 10.

In November, according to the bureau's first glance at that month, the jobless rate fell to a 5-year-low of 7 percent and 203,000 jobs were added to payrolls.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.