Sign in Subscribe
Economy

1.73 million workers remain jobless as hiring stays slow

New jobless claims fell to 194,000, but continuing claims rose to 1.73 million in the Labor Department's latest count.

1.73 million workers remain jobless as hiring stays slow
Stock photo. Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Fewer Americans are losing their jobs than at almost any time in the last half century. The ones who do are having a harder time getting back to work.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 194,000 people filed new claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending Oct. 17, seasonally adjusted. That was down 6,000 from the prior week's revised 200,000 and the lowest level in about three months. The four-week average, which smooths out weekly noise, slipped to 197,750.

The number that matters more if you're out of work moved the other way. Continuing claims, which count people still collecting benefits after their first week, rose 25,000 to 1,728,000 in the week ending Oct. 10.

Nobody's getting fired. Nobody's getting hired, either.

Economists call this a "low-hire, low-fire" labor market. Employers are holding on to the workers they have, but they aren't adding many new ones. Reuters reported that claims have now stayed at or below 200,000 for six straight weeks, close to the 189,000 reading in mid-July that was the lowest since 1969. Reuters tied the slow hiring to uncertainty from the Iran war and tariffs.

Government data shows what that means for a job seeker. Employers hired 5.2 million people in August, a hires rate of 3.3 percent, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics said "changed little over the month and year." Layoffs held at 1.6 million, or 1.0 percent.

The September jobs report shows the cost for people stuck on the outside. The median spell of unemployment was 11.5 weeks, which Reuters described as near a four-and-a-half-year high. The average was 24.8 weeks. About 1.9 million people, 27.1 percent of everyone unemployed, had been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer. Regular benefits generally last up to 26 weeks, so many of those workers may have already run out.

Oliver Allen, an economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told Reuters that "with most indicators of hiring still very soft, the long-term unemployed and new entrants" will likely struggle to find work. Reuters also noted that continuing claims may understate the problem, because workers who exhaust their benefits and recent graduates don't show up in the count at all.

Layoffs still land on real people

A low national claims number is no comfort to the workers getting cut right now. eBay told staff this week it is eliminating about 9 percent of its workforce, its second round of layoffs this year. Kroger plans to cut about 3,000 corporate jobs over three years as it expands its use of AI. And with prices still climbing, a long job search costs more than it used to.

In a market like this, losing a job is less likely but more expensive. The search that took a few weeks a couple of years ago can now take months.

What to do if you're let go

File for unemployment in the first week you're out of work. In most states, benefits are counted from the week you file, not the day you lost your job, so a late claim can mean weeks of benefits you never get. The Labor Department's unemployment insurance page explains how to find your state's program.

Before you sign a severance agreement, read it closely. Many agreements ask you to give up legal claims in exchange for the payment, and the first offer is often negotiable. The severance.law FAQ covers deadlines, negotiation and what you give up by signing. If you think cuts are coming at your company, our guide to the warning signs of a layoff can help you prepare now.

Sources

Read next

Comments ()