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 proposes last week fell slightly as businesses continue to retain employees despite growing economic uncertainty over U S bargain program Applications for jobless benefits fell by to for the week ending May the Labor Department mentioned 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 sector and wiped out millions of jobs five years ago Even though President Donald Trump has paused or dialed down several of his tariff threats concerns remain about a global economic slowdown that could upend the U S labor field which has been a pillar of the American economic system for years The U S and China last week agreed to a -day pause in their exchange war giving financial markets a boost and at least temporarily relieving several of the anxiety over the impact of tariffs on the U S financial market 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 announced 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 establishment in the last few days stated that the U S economic activity shrank at a annual pace in the first quarter of Advancement 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 current 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 business sector by dramatically increasing import taxes to rejuvenate the U S manufacturing sector Trump has also promised to drastically downsize the federal authorities workforce but a great number 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 Regime Efficiency or DOGE spearheaded by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk will surface in the weekly layoffs records Despite showing selected signs of weakening during the past year the labor territory remains robust with plentiful jobs and relatively inadequate layoffs Earlier this month the establishment stated that U S employers added a surprisingly strong jobs in April and the unemployment rate held at a historically healthy A great number of 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 revealed job cuts this year include Workday Dow CNN Starbucks Southwest Airlines and Facebook parent company Meta The Labor Department also revealed Thursday that the four-week average of maintains which evens out a few 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