U.S. initial jobless claims decline, but labor demand remains sluggish and unemployment rate rises to a four-year high

Jinse Finance reported that initial jobless claims in the United States fell last week, but the job market has lost its luster due to sluggish hiring. According to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday, for the week ending September 20, initial jobless claims, after seasonal adjustment, decreased by 14,000 to 218,000. In response to uncertainties brought about by protectionist trade policies, companies are hoarding workers but remain reluctant to increase headcount. Protectionist trade policies have raised the average U.S. tariff to its 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, restraining job growth. Initial jobless claims data show that for the week ending September 13, continuing jobless claims decreased by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.926 million. In August, the average duration of unemployment rose from 24.1 weeks to 24.5 weeks, the longest since April 2022, and the unemployment rate climbed to 4.3%, the highest in nearly four years.