The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a three-month low last week while layoffs fell 43 percent in December, pointing to a still-tight labour market that could force the Federal Reserve to keep increasing interest rates.Labour market resilience was underscored by other data on Thursday showing private employers hired far more workers than expected last month. The reports suggested the economy ended 2022 on solid footing, despite a series of layoffs in the technology industry, as well in interest rate-sensitive sectors like finance and housing.The jobs market resilience has raised the risk that the Fed, engaged in its fastest interest rate-increasing cycle since the 1980s as it tries to dampen demand to tame inflation, could boost its target interest rate above the 5.1 percent peak the US central bank projected last month and keep it there for a while.
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