Initial jobless claims tick up, but remain near decades low

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rebounded slightly after falling in the previous week to near the lowest levels in decades, signaling layoffs remain muted despite recent job-cut announcements.

Initial claims rose by 10,000 to 200,000 in the week ended May 2, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 205,000 applications.

Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, fell to 1.77 million in the previous week, a new two-year low.

Filings have remained subdued despite high-profile companies such as Meta Platforms Inc. and Nike Inc. announcing job cuts, indicating the labor market remains in the “low-hire, low-fire” state that has prevailed in recent years. The government’s April jobs report, due Friday, is expected to show the first back-to-back monthly increases in payrolls in almost a year.

A separate report Thursday showed announced job cuts continued to mount in the U.S. technology sector last month, bringing the year-to-date total to a three-year high even as overall private-sector layoff announcements receded.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.