Jobless claims fall to 5-month low
New jobless claims slipped to the lowest level since April and beneath the pre-pandemic average, as employers held onto workers even amid slowing growth. The applications for unemployment insurance, a proxy for layoffs, declined by 16,000 last week, to 193,000 — the average in 2019 was 218,000. While the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest-rate hikes to fight inflation are expected to hit hiring, the job market is still tight. There are almost two job openings for every available worker.
- Consumer confidence rose for a second month in September, to the highest level since April, with half of Americans saying jobs were “plentiful,” according to a Conference Board index.
- Gross domestic product growth was revised higher for many of the pandemic quarters through 2021, but remained negative in the first half of 2022.