WASHINGTON — U.S. applications for jobless benefits held steady last week as layoffs remain low despite uncertainty over how President Donald Trump’s tariffs will impact the economy.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid was unchanged at 229,000 for the week ending May 10, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s in line with the 230,000 new applications analysts forecast.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are seen as representative of U.S. layoffs and have mostly bounced around a healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 ravaged the economy and wiped out millions of jobs five years ago.
The four-week average of claims, which softens some of the week-to-week fluctuations, rose by 3,250 to 230,500.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of May 3 rose by 9,000 to 1.88 million.
