OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
11:13 AM – Thursday, August 28, 2025
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits declined last week, remaining within the historically low levels seen since the COVID-19 pandemic, economists say.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), unemployment claims fell by 3,000 to 224,000 for the week ending August 9th, coming in below economists’ forecast of 230,000.
Meanwhile, continuing claims — representing the total number of people receiving unemployment money — dropped by 15,000 to 1.95 million for the week ending August 2nd, the report stated.
Layoffs have remained low by historical standards. However, the labor market in the U.S. has shown signs of strain this year. Fewer job vacancies have been reported by employers in recent months, falling from 7.7 million in May to 7.4 million in June.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it was lowest in November and December, at 1.9%, but lingered at 2% from January to June, with a jump to 2.1% in March.
The Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration softens the negative effects of weak hiring on the unemployment rate. Economists suggest that due to the reduced labor force growth, the economy only needs to generate under 90,000 jobs per month to keep up with the growth of the working population.
“The unemployment rate has been relatively stable because layoffs are low,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “Going forward, slower labor force growth will also hold down the unemployment rate, masking some of the potential fissures in the labor market.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% under President Trump from 4.8% when he first took office. This was a 50-year low overall, and a 70-year low for women’s unemployment, AP News reported.
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