Last week, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States unexpectedly dropped to 215,000, indicating that the labor market remains resilient.

The number of initial jobless claims in the United States last week fell more than expected, which is in line with the resilience of the labor market. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that for the week ending June 20, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims decreased by 12,000 to 215,000, compared to economists' previous forecast of 225,000. The data included the June public holiday last Friday, which may be part of the reason for the larger-than-expected decline in the number of unemployment benefit applicants. Typically, the data on initial jobless claims is more complicated from late May to the end of the school year in June, as some states allow non-teaching staff to apply for unemployment benefits during the long school holiday period. The seasonal factor model used by the government to adjust for seasonal fluctuations in the data does not always capture these changes. Although initial jobless claims have remained in the range of 190,000 to 230,000 this year, the labor market has not undergone any substantial changes. After stumbling last year, the labor market has regained its footing. The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims in the US for the week ending June 20 was 224,300, up from the previous value of 223,300, smoothing out fluctuations in the data. Although the US-led conflict with Iran has led to rising costs, there is no sign yet of employers carrying out large-scale layoffs in response to this situation. However, companies continue to be cautious in their hiring. The report showed that for the week ending June 13, continuing jobless claims rose slightly to 1.821 million, higher than the expected 1.8 million. This so-called continuing jobless claims data covers the period during which the government conducts household surveys to calculate the unemployment rate for June. The US unemployment rate has remained at 4.3% for three consecutive months. However, weak hiring demand has left many unemployed individuals in long-term unemployment. Recent college graduates also struggle to find entry-level positions, partly because some companies are using artificial intelligence technology in certain positions. A report by the US government this month stated that the median duration of unemployment in May jumped to 11.6 weeks, the longest since November 2021, compared to 11.0 weeks in April.