Latest data shows few layoffs as employers struggle to find enough workers; trade deficit widened
The Labor Department's jobless claims report is expected to report initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, stayed near a five-decade low at a seasonally adjusted 195,000 for the week that ended on Jan. 1, Gabriel T. Rubin reports. That would keep the four-week average for claims, which smooths out volatility, near last month’s level, the lowest since 1969.
The labor market's recovery could be threatened by the rise in Omicron infections over the past month. But with job openings at records and an unprecedented number of Americans quitting their jobs, employers may bear the brunt of the impact from another season of pandemic disruptions.
U.S. job growth for 2021 is expected to hit an annual record, economists say, with the economy positioned to churn out jobs this year despite temporary disruptions from the Omicron variant’s surge, Sarah Chaney Cambon reports.
U.S added just 199,000 jobs in December, but total increase of 6.4 million in 2021 and tight labor market signal steady gains ahead
Such gains would leave the U.S. with about 6.5 million more jobs than at the end of 2020—more than in any year on record—but 3.5 million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels.
- Friday’s report is a snapshot taken before the Omicron variant's spread in late December, and while the variant has taken a toll on some businesses’ revenue, many employers are clinging to the workers they have as consumers continue to spend.