Associated Press Business Writer Matt Ott
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose modestly last week as they continue to maintain their business despite fear of potential unemployment.
The Labor Bureau said Thursday that the unemployment application increased from 6,000 to 222,000 for the week ending April 19. That’s a small amount of forecasts from 220,000 new application analysts.
The weekly application of unemployment benefits has been considered a layoff proxy and has remained primarily in the health range of 200,000-250,000 for the past few years.
Despite President Donald Trump suspending or pulling back many of his tariff threats, concerns remain about a global economy slowdown that could overturn what was a historically resilient labor market.
Earlier on Thursday, the head of the International Monetary Fund urged countries to move “quickly” to resolve trade disputes that threaten global economic growth.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the unpredictability of an aggressive campaign of aggressive taxes on Trump’s foreign imports has slowed businesses from investing and consumers backing their spending. Georgieva’s comments come two days after the IMF downgraded its global economic growth outlook this year.
Trump’s promise to significantly reduce the federal workforce, like his pledge to enact tariffs, occupy much of the early weeks of his presidency, and is still in motion.
It is not clear when the work ordered by government efficiency has been cut, namely “doge,” led by Elon Musk, will emerge in weekly layoff data. But even outside the Washington, D.C. area, federal staff cuts are already felt.
Federal agencies that have announced layoffs or are making plans cuts include the Department of Health and Human Services, the IRS, Small Business Administration, Veterans and the Department of Education.
Despite showing signs of weakening over the past year, the labour market remains healthy with many job openings and relatively few layoffs.
Earlier this month, the government reported that US employers added an incredibly strong 228,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate has been inched to 4.2%, but he is still a healthy person by historical standards.
Several well-known companies have already announced jobs this year, including Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines and Facebook’s parent company Meta.
Thursday’s report also showed that it equalized some of the weekly volatility, which reduced the average for the four-week application from 750 to 220,250.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits on April 12 fell 1.84 million from 37,000.
Original issue: April 24, 2025 9:11am EDT
