Upcoming Event
Free Newsletter
Signage for a job fair is seen on 5th Avenue after the release of the jobs report in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 3, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Signage for a job fair is seen on 5th Avenue after the release of the jobs report in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 3, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
US weekly jobless claims rise slightly amid low layoffs
Lucia Mutikani
Reuters //May 28, 2026//
In Brief:
- Initial jobless claims rose 5,000 to 215,000
- Continuing claims increased to 1.786 million
- Unemployment rate steady at 4.3% in may
- Layoffs remain low despite geopolitical tensions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased marginally last week amid relatively low layoffs, despite the dragging war with Iran.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 215,000 for the week ended May 23, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 211,000 claims for the latest week. Claims have been tucked in a 190,000-230,000 range this year.
Outside high-profile job cuts by technology firms in artificial intelligence, layoffs have remained generally low, despite uncertainty first from last year’s sweeping import tariffs and now from the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. The conflict has shut off the Strait of Hormuz, boosting commodity prices, including oil and fertilizers and driving up inflation.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, increased 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.786 million during the week ended May 16, the claims report showed. The so-called continuing claims covered the period during which the government surveyed households for May’s unemployment rate.
The unemployment rate is expected to have held steady at 4.3% in May. Continuing claims have dropped from last year’s lofty levels, though some of the decline is likely due to people exhausting their eligibility for benefits, limited to 26 weeks in most states.
They also do not capture young unemployed Americans, who typically have no or a limited work history, disqualifying them from benefits. College graduates are entering a tough labor market. Some of last year’s graduates remain unemployed.
A Conference Board survey on Tuesday showed households’ perceptions of the labor market were mixed this month, with the share viewing jobs as “plentiful” falling to the lowest level since February 2021. But the share reporting that jobs were “hard to get” hit a seven-month low.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
-
