The number of people in the United States applying for unemployment benefits last week was lower than expected, while the number of continuing claims increased

On January 8, the number of people in the United States applying for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, indicating a stable labor market at the beginning of this year, despite some laid-off workers encountering difficulties in finding new jobs. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday showed that initial claims decreased by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 201,000 last week, lower than the market expectation of 218,000. Government data released on Tuesday showed an increase in job vacancies in November with each unemployed person corresponding to 1.13 job vacancies (compared to 1.12 in October), highlighting stability in the labor market. Although layoffs are still low by historical standards, hiring has slowed down leading some laid-off workers to experience long periods of unemployment. The report shows that as of December 28th's week there was an increase by 33 thousand continuing claims for unemployment benefits reaching up to a total amounting to approximately one million eight hundred sixty-seven thousand.