US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Fall by 5,000... Four-Week Average Hits Lowest Level in 16 Months

Continuing Claims Also Stabilize Lower

US weekly initial jobless claims decreased by 5,000 from the previous week

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the United States decreased from the previous week. The four-week moving average, which helps gauge the trend in jobless claims, also fell to its lowest level in one year and four months.

The US Department of Labor announced on the 12th (local time) that initial jobless claims for the week of February 1 to 7 came in at 227,000, down 5,000 from the previous week. This slightly missed the 225,000 expected by experts surveyed by Dow Jones.

The number of continuing claims, filed by those who have requested unemployment benefits for two weeks or more, was 1,862,000 for the week of January 25 to 31, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims, which shows the trend in changes to that figure, stood at 1,846,750, the lowest level in one year and four months since October 2024, according to the US Department of Labor.

The number of US nonfarm payroll jobs in January, which had drawn market attention, increased by 130,000 from the previous month, far exceeding market expectations. The unemployment rate fell from 4.4% in December 2024 to 4.3%.

However, concerns persist that the labor market remains fragile. Due to the annual benchmark revision of employment statistics, last year's total job increase was sharply revised down by 862,000, and job growth has been concentrated in healthcare-related sectors such as nursing.

In fact, according to the employment report released the previous day, employment increased by a combined 124,000 in just two sectors - healthcare (82,000) and social assistance (42,000) - effectively driving January's overall job gains.

The healthcare sector is relatively less affected by cyclical changes in demand, is labor-intensive, and, for now, is difficult to replace with artificial intelligence (AI). As a result, it has become the key driver of job growth in the United States in recent years.

While the contribution of the medical sector to job growth is positive, economists warn that if employment gains rely too heavily on a specific industry, there may be risks if that sector shows signs of slowing, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.