U.S. initial jobless claims fell to 189,000 last week, the lowest since 1969.

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The U.S. labor market is showing resilience far beyond expectations. The latest data shows that initial jobless claims have plummeted to the lowest levels in over half a century, indicating that the recent wave of corporate layoff announcements has not yet translated into a massive surge in unemployment.

For the week ending April 25, U.S. initial jobless claims dropped sharply by 26,000 to 189,000, not only significantly lower than the Bloomberg economist survey's projected 212,000, but also marking the lowest weekly figure on record. This number is even below the lower end of the market expectation range at 205,000, with a deviation of six standard deviations.

Meanwhile, continued jobless claims fell to 1.79 million, the lowest level in nearly two years.

This data has significantly eased market concerns about the U.S. labor market. Just a day earlier, the Federal Reserve announced it would keep interest rates unchanged, and Chairman Jerome Powell cited the "increasingly stable signs" in the labor market as a key reason for not rushing to cut rates.

Data Far Exceeds Expectations, Sets Historical Record

For the week ending April 25, initial jobless claims dropped sharply from a revised 215,000 to 189,000, a decrease of 26,000.

Bloomberg economist Eliza Winger stated, “The decline in initial jobless claims strongly indicates that the scale of layoffs remains limited, which explains why labor market sentiment has remained stable even amid rising uncertainty.”

Notably, this record low is not simply driven by seasonal adjustment factors—the raw data, unadjusted for seasonality, also dropped sharply to 179,000, confirming the authenticity of the data.

From a regional perspective, New York was the main driver of the sharp decrease for the week, with new claims down by nearly 11,000, essentially wiping out the substantial increases from the previous two weeks. California and Connecticut also recorded significant declines.

Layoff Announcements Not Translating Into Actual Unemployment

Despite layoff plans announced by well-known companies such as Meta Platforms and Nike, the number of initial jobless claims remains low, indicating that the overall labor market is still operating in a “low layoff” environment. Continued jobless claims simultaneously fell by 23,000 to 1.785 million, the lowest level since early 2024, further confirming the stability of employment among those still working.

The strong performance of the labor market data is not an isolated signal. Another report released on the same day shows that the U.S. first-quarter GDP grew by 2%, supported by robust business and consumer demand. The two data points together paint a picture of an economy with underlying resilience, providing stronger grounds for the Federal Reserve to maintain its current interest rate stance.

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