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

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi Data reports, the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. decreased last week, but the job market has lost its luster due to sluggish hiring.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced on Thursday that for the week ending September 20, the number of initial jobless claims decreased by 14,000, seasonally adjusted, to 218,000. Due to the uncertainty brought by protectionist trade policies, although companies are hoarding workers, they are still reluctant to increase headcount. Protectionist trade policies have raised the average tariff in the U.S. to the highest level in a century. Weak labor demand has undermined 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, suppressing job growth. Initial jobless claims show that for the week ending September 13, the number of continuing claims decreased by 2,000, seasonally adjusted to 1.926 million. The average duration of unemployment rose from 24.1 weeks to 24.5 weeks in August, the longest since April 2022, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, the highest point in nearly four years.