Worker Filings for Jobless Claims Held Nearly Steady Last Week

New functions for unemployment advantages inched down final week, an indication the labor market is holding up as the broader economy reveals indicators of slowing.

Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, declined barely to a seasonally adjusted 250,000 final week from a downwardly revised 252,000 the week earlier than, the Labor Department mentioned Thursday. Claims totals have hovered round this stage since hitting a excessive for the yr in mid-July, and are above the 2019 prepandemic weekly common of 218,000.