Catenaa, Thursday, December 04, 2025- Applications for US unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest in more than three years, showing that employers are still largely holding onto workers despite layoffs.
Initial claims decreased by 27,000 to 191,000 in the week ended November 29, a period that included Thanksgiving. The weekly claims data can be particularly choppy around holidays.
The four-week moving average of new applications, a metric that helps smooth out volatility, fell to 214,750 last week. That’s the lowest since January, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
Many employers have sharply pulled back on hiring in recent months, and some large corporations, including HP and FedEx, have announced job cuts.
Even so, Thursday’s data suggests actual layoffs remain limited, helping to allay concerns about a rapid deterioration in the labor market.
While continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, retreated to 1.94 million in the week ended November 22, they remain near the highest since 2021.
The low-hire, low-fire job market has kept a lid on initial applications for unemployment benefits, but it has also limited out-of-work Americans’ ability to find a new job.
US companies shed payrolls in November by the most in over two years, driven by small businesses, according to ADP Research data released Wednesday.
That report, alongside the weekly claims figures, will help inform Federal Reserve officials as they decide whether to lower interest rates for a third-straight meeting next week.
Separate data out Thursday from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed announced layoffs at US companies settled back last month after an October surge, but were still the highest for any November in three years.
Policymakers will not yet have the government’s November jobs report in hand for their meeting. The report, originally due December 5, was delayed until December 16 as a result of the record-long government shutdown.
