The number of initial unemployment claims in the United States has decreased, but labor demand is sluggish and the unemployment rate has risen to a four-year high.

In the United States, the number of initial jobless claims decreased last week, but the job market lost its shine due to a lackluster pace of hiring. The US Department of Labor announced on Thursday that, as of the week ending September 20, the seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims decreased by 14,000 to 218,000. Due to uncertainty brought by protectionist trade policies, businesses are reluctant to increase their workforce even though they are stockpiling workers. Protectionist trade policies have raised the average tariff in the US to the highest level in a century. Weak labor demand has weakened the resilience of the labor market, prompting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again last week. The Trump administration's crackdown on immigration has also reduced labor supply, restraining employment growth. The number of initial jobless claims shows that, as of the week ending September 13, the continued jobless claims decreased by 2,000 people to 1.926 million after seasonally adjustment. The average duration of unemployment in August rose from 24.1 weeks to 24.5 weeks, the highest since April 2022, causing the unemployment rate to rise to its highest point in nearly four years at 4.3%.