?States reported that 194,000 workers filed for new unemployment benefits during the week ending Feb. 11, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The number of workers continuing to claim unemployment benefits is nearly 1.7 million, which is considered normal.
Unemployment claims have consistently held at low levels, even as layoffs have accelerated, primarily in the technology sector. The labor market overall remains resilient despite Federal Reserve efforts to raise interest rates in an attempt to bring down inflation. There were 11 million open jobs at the end of December, or 1.9 jobs for every unemployed person, and the unemployment rate for January was an historically low 3.4 percent.
