US filings for jobless aid, a proxy for layoffs, inch down modestly last week as uncertainty lingers

By MATT OTT Associated Press Business Writer WASHINGTON AP The number of Americans filing unemployment alleges last week fell slightly as businesses continue to retain employees despite growing economic uncertainty over U S deal protocol Applications for jobless benefits fell by to for the week ending May the Labor Department revealed Thursday That s pretty close to the new applications analysts forecast Weekly applications for jobless benefits are seen as representative of U S layoffs and have mostly bounced around a historically healthy range between and since COVID- ravaged the business activity and wiped out millions of jobs five years ago Even though President Donald Trump has paused or dialed down multiple of his tariff threats concerns remain about a global economic slowdown that could upend the U S labor industry which has been a pillar of the American business sector for years The U S and China last week agreed to a -day pause in their business war giving financial markets a boost and at least temporarily relieving specific of the anxiety over the impact of tariffs on the U S financial sector Earlier this month the Federal Reserve held its benchmark lending rate at for the third straight meeting after cutting it three times at the end of last year Fed chair Jerome Powell revealed the likely for both higher unemployment and inflation are elevated an atypical combination that complicates the central bank s dual mandate of controlling prices and keeping unemployment low Powell explained that tariffs have dampened consumer and business sentiment and the cabinet in recent months stated that the U S economic activity shrank at a annual pace in the first quarter of Advance was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the U S tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump s massive tariffs went into effect Related Articles Rapper Kid Cudi is set to testify at the Sean Diddy Combs trial Here s what we know about the DC shooting where staff members of the Israeli Embassy were killed Trump s big tax bill has passed the House Here s what s inside it In contemporary times in History May strongest earthquake recorded strikes Chile staff members of Israeli Embassy killed in shooting near Jewish museum in DC Trump is attempting to reshape the global financial sector by dramatically increasing import taxes to rejuvenate the U S manufacturing sector Trump has also promised to drastically downsize the federal governing body workforce but a multitude of of those cuts are being challenged in the courts and Congress It s not clear if or when the job cuts ordered by the Department of Leadership Efficiency or DOGE spearheaded by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk will surface in the weekly layoffs content Despite showing a few signs of weakening during the past year the labor arena remains robust with plentiful jobs and relatively insufficient layoffs Earlier this month the cabinet released that U S employers added a surprisingly strong jobs in April and the unemployment rate held at a historically healthy Several economists still anticipate that a negative impact from deal wars will materialize this year for American workers Microsoft last week began laying off about workers nearly of its workforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years Other companies that have communicated job cuts this year include Workday Dow CNN Starbucks Southwest Airlines and Facebook parent company Meta The Labor Department also disclosed Thursday that the four-week average of indicates which evens out specific of the week-to-week ups and downs during more volatile stretches rose by to The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of May climbed by to million