The U.S. job market showed a small uptick in weekly jobless claims as layoffs stayed relatively contained, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor. For the week ending Feb. 21, jobless-aid filings increased to 212,000, up from the previous week, a change that aligned with forecasts cited by FactSet.
The figures come as employers have continued to announce cuts at some prominent companies in recent weeks, including UPS, Amazon, Dow and The Washington Post. Even with those high-profile announcements, the Labor Department’s weekly jobless-claims data continued to fall within the range described as relatively healthy over recent years.
Economists and analysts track initial jobless claims because the weekly count closely reflects patterns in layoffs and offers a near-real-time look at job market conditions. In this release, the Labor Department reported that the four-week moving average—used to smooth week-to-week volatility—edged higher, ticking up by 750 to 220,250.
Looking at the broader level of claims, the Labor Department said the total number of Americans filing for the previous week ending Feb. 14 decreased by 31,000 to 1.83 million. That broader measure, along with the weekly and moving-average figures, has been used to gauge whether labor-market cooling is accelerating.
Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that employers added 130,000 jobs in January and that the unemployment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.4%, but the reporting also included government revisions that reduced payrolls created in 2024-2025. Those revisions cut the number of jobs created last year to 181,000, about one-third of the previously reported 584,000, and described as the weakest since the pandemic year of 2020.
The Labor Department also said job openings fell in December to the lowest level in more than five years. Together, the job openings decline and the still-modest pace of weekly layoffs helped frame the labor market as one that economists describe as “low-hire, low-fire,” with unemployment staying historically low but job seekers still finding it difficult to move quickly into new roles.
Some economists have pointed to weak hiring as evidence that borrowing costs are weighing on growth and reducing companies’ willingness to expand, while others have been watching whether stronger hiring signals could persist. Analysts cited in the report noted that economists remain divided on whether the stronger-than-expected January job gains were a one-off or a possible early sign of recovery, which could affect timing for any further Federal Reserve interest-rate changes.