US jobless benefit applications rise modestly as labor market remains largely unfazed by trade war

By MATT OTT Associated Press Business Writer Slightly more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week but the labor realm remains broadly healthy despite an ongoing contract war Jobless claim filings inched up by to for the week ending April the Labor Department stated Thursday That s less than the new applications analysts forecast Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and have mostly ping-ponged between and for the past limited years Even though President Donald Trump put a -day pause on preponderance of his widespread tariff hikes Wednesday concerns remain about a global economic slowdown that could upend what has been an incredibly resilient labor sector Like his pledge to institute tariffs Trump s promise to drastically downsize the federal cabinet workforce is fully in motion It s not clear when the job cuts ordered by the Department of Regime Efficiency or DOGE spearheaded by Elon Musk will surface in the weekly layoffs facts Federal agencies that have either reported layoffs or are planning cuts include the Department of Physical condition and Human Services IRS Small Business Administration Veterans Affairs and Department of Development Despite showing various signs of weakening during the past year the labor territory remains healthy with plentiful jobs and relatively sparse layoffs Last week the executive released that U S employers added a surprisingly strong jobs in March and while the unemployment rate inched up to that s a healthy figure by historical standards Certain high-profile companies have informed job cuts already this year including Workday Dow CNN Starbucks Southwest Airlines and Facebook parent company Meta The four-week average of applications which aims to smooth out various of the week-to-week swings was unchanged at The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of March fell by to million