US jobless benefit applications rise modestly as labor market remains largely unfazed by trade war

By MATT OTT Associated Press Business Writer Slightly more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week but the labor industry remains broadly healthy despite an ongoing exchange war Jobless claim filings inched up by to for the week ending April the Labor Department disclosed Thursday That s less than the new applications analysts forecast Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and have mostly ping-ponged between and for the past minimal years Even though President Donald Trump put a -day pause on the bulk of his widespread tariff hikes Wednesday concerns remain about a global economic slowdown that could upend what has been an incredibly resilient labor domain Like his pledge to institute tariffs Trump s promise to drastically downsize the federal executive workforce is fully in motion It s not clear when the job cuts ordered by the Department of Regime Efficiency or DOGE spearheaded by Elon Musk will surface in the weekly layoffs content Federal agencies that have either released layoffs or are planning cuts include the Department of Fitness and Human Services IRS Small Business Administration Veterans Affairs and Department of Schooling Despite showing several signs of weakening during the past year the labor field remains healthy with plentiful jobs and relatively inadequate layoffs Last week the authorities announced that U S employers added a surprisingly strong jobs in March and while the unemployment rate inched up to that s a healthy figure by historical standards Chosen high-profile companies have broadcasted job cuts already this year including Workday Dow CNN Starbucks Southwest Airlines and Facebook parent company Meta The four-week average of applications which aims to smooth out certain of the week-to-week swings was unchanged at The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of March fell by to million