Jobless claims tick up to 210,000 as employers keep hiring low

Jobless claims tick up, signaling steady layoffs even as hiring slows

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid rose slightly last week, according to U.S. Labor Department data, adding a small uptick to a labor-market picture that economists have characterized as weaker than a year ago but still comparatively stable.

For the week ending March 21, initial applications for unemployment benefits increased to 210,000 from 205,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected new filings to come in around 210,000, as the reported figure stayed close to that forecast.

The Labor Department also reported that the four-week moving average of jobless claims—a measure that smooths week-to-week volatility—declined by 250 to 210,500. Separately, the report showed that continuing claims for the previous week ending March 14 fell by 32,000 to 1.82 million, the government said, describing it as the lowest level since May 25, 2024.

Economists have said weekly filings have remained in a relatively healthy range for much of the past few years, generally between 200,000 and 250,000, even as higher-profile employers have announced job cuts in recent months. The AP report cited companies including Morgan Stanley, UPS, and Amazon as examples of firms announcing layoffs even while overall jobless claims stayed contained.

The latest claims data also follows a weaker employment report earlier in the month. The Labor Department reported that U.S. employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs in February, and it said revisions reduced 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls. Those changes nudged the unemployment rate up to 4.4%.

The AP report tied the broader employment uncertainty to higher costs and policy uncertainty as well. It said oil prices have surged more than 40% since the war with Iran began, contributing to higher expenses for businesses and consumers, and it cited the Commerce Department’s report that the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge rose 2.8% in January compared with a year earlier—above the Fed’s 2% target.

In that context, the AP report said the Federal Reserve left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at its last meeting. The article also said central bank officials had voted to raise the rate three times to close out 2025, citing concern about a weakening job market.

The AP report described the job market as stuck in what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” environment—one that has kept the official unemployment rate historically low but has left many workers who become unemployed struggling to find a new job. It also pointed to data over the past year showing hiring has slowed, a trend it linked to uncertainty associated with President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the lingering effects of high interest rates the Fed set in 2022 and 2023 to curb pandemic-era inflation.

In verified-figure terms, the Labor Department’s latest snapshot corresponded to 210,000 initial jobless claims for the week ending March 21 (ICSA) and an unemployment rate of 4.4% (UNRATE), while a broader underemployment measure stood at 7.9% (U6RATE), according to FRED vintage data associated with the article date.