Unemployment claims in the United States increased slightly in the week ending 21 March, suggesting a stable labour market.
According to a Department of Labour report, the number of claims rose 5,000 week-over-week to 210,000.
The figure for insured unemployment for the week ending 14 March was 1.819 million, which was a 32,000 decrease from the previous week.
This was also the lowest level since 25 March 2024, when it was 1.804 million.
However, the lower figure was likely due to people exhausting their eligibility aid, which is limited to 26 weeks in most states.
This comes as many economists have downgraded their forecasts for the U.S. economy this year and boosted projections for unemployment, amid a surge in oil prices driven by the war in Iran.
Many high-profile companies, like Meta and Paramount, have announced job cuts.
According to JPMorgan Chase & Co economist Abiel Reinhart, the decline in continuing claims could be a good sign for upcoming job reports.
“The number of unemployed on permanent layoff had kept rising through February in the employment report, but continuing claims are one sign that you could soon see the unemployment rate level off or decline,” Reinhart said in a note following the release.
“That depends, of course, on the magnitude and duration of the recent energy shock.”
Despite unemployment claims reaching their lowest levels in nearly two years, the number of Americans unemployed for at least 27 weeks has almost doubled over the last three weeks.
In February, it stood at 1.9 million people, accounting for around 25% of all unemployed people, according to monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
U.S. stocks were trading mostly lower while the dollar rose against a basket of currencies.
The conflict in the Middle East has raised concerns about inflation as oil prices have surged nearly 30% since the war began on 28 February.
