The number of initial jobless claims in the US rose moderately last week, indicating that despite continued weakness in labor demand, the scale of layoffs at the end of 2025 was still relatively low. The figures for recent weeks have fluctuated due to seasonal adjustments in year-end holidays, but overall, the number of layoffs is still low by historical standards. Affected by tariff uncertainty and the spread of artificial intelligence, employers were hesitant to increase manpower, but there was no wave of large-scale layoffs, which caused the labor market to fall into a state of “paralysis.” The market's focus has now turned to the December non-farm payrolls report due to be released on Friday. Economists expect the number of non-farm workers to increase by 60,000 last month, and the unemployment rate is expected to fall back to 4.5% from the four-year high of 4.6% hit in November. It should be noted that the November unemployment rate data was partially disrupted by the 43-day federal government shutdown.

The number of initial jobless claims in the US rose moderately last week, indicating that despite continued weakness in labor demand, the scale of layoffs at the end of 2025 was still relatively low. The figures for recent weeks have fluctuated due to seasonal adjustments in year-end holidays, but overall, the number of layoffs is still low by historical standards. Affected by tariff uncertainty and the spread of artificial intelligence, employers were hesitant to increase manpower, but there was no wave of large-scale layoffs, which caused the labor market to fall into a state of “paralysis.” The market's focus has now turned to the December non-farm payrolls report due to be released on Friday. Economists expect the number of non-farm workers to increase by 60,000 last month, and the unemployment rate is expected to fall back to 4.5% from the four-year high of 4.6% hit in November. It should be noted that the November unemployment rate data was partially disrupted by the 43-day federal government shutdown.