The data presents a disconnect with how many Americans are feeling about the economy less than a month from the midterms.
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Applications for unemployment benefits — a proxy for layoffs — have dipped to longtime lows in recent weeks, even as many Americans remain sour about the economy ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
New filings for unemployment benefits have held below 200,000 for four weeks, data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday shows.
That’s the longest stretch since the late 1960s.
Bill Adams, chief U.S. economist at Fifth Third Commercial Bank, said jobless claims have been at “extremely low levels” wrote in an analyst note on Thursday.
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“While workers searching for their first job or looking for a better one are having a hard time, those already in work have remarkably good job security,” Adams said.
The low layoff levels presents a disconnect with how many Americans are feeling about the economy less than a month from the midterms, in which Republicans risk losing both the House and Senate. Recent data shows that Americans feel worse than they did during the pandemic, as gas prices have soared and wages have not kept up with inflation.
In addition, African Americans — whose unemployment rate hit 7 percent in September — and recent college graduates are disproportionately feeling the pain of a job market in which, despite few layoffs, job opportunities are lacking.
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