Initial Unemployment Claims

March 13, 2025 Initial unemployment claims declined 2 thousand in the week ending March 8 to 220 thousand after falling 20 thousand in the previous week.    There is no evidence that the labor market has been affected by layoffs thus far.  However, we know that some...

Job Openings

March 11, 2025 The  Labor Department reported that job openings rose 232 thousand in January to 7,740 thousand after having declined 523 thousand in December and having risen 416 thousand in November.   The pace of economic activity has remained relatively solid while...

Payroll Employment

March 7, 2025 Payroll employment climbed by 151 thousand in February after having climbed by 125 thousand in January and 323 thousand in December.  The job gain was roughly in  line with expectations, but the quality of the jobs has deteriorated.   Many of those jobs...

Private Employment

March 7, 2025 Private sector employment climbed by 140 thousand in February after having risen by 81 thousand in January and 287 thousand in December.  The job gain was roughly in  line with expectations, but the quality of the jobs has deteriorated.   Many of those...

Unemployment Rate

March 7, 2025 The unemployment rate rose 0.1% in February to 4.1% after having declined 0.1% in January and having fallen 0.1% in December.  The labor force fell 385 thousand in February while employment declined 588 thousand.  As a result, the number of unemployed...

Nonfarm Workweek

March 7, 2025 In any given month employers can boost output by either additional hiring workers or by lengthening the number of  hours that their employees work.  Payroll employment climbed by 151 thousand in February.  In the past three months the average increase...