Although there is more and more frequent talk about the onset of recession not only in the USA, some macroeconomic indicators suggest the opposite. The data on unemployment benefits in the US at the end of last year surprised everyone.
In the week ending 31 December, 204,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in the US. This is almost 20,000 less than the previous week. It is also about 20 000 less than analysts expected. The U.S. Department of Labor made the announcement on Thursday. There has also been a slight decline in people receiving unemployment benefits.
The reason is the high demand for labour
Experts estimate that this is the result of continued strong demand for labour, although there is evidence of weakening economic activity in some sectors. The analysts also add that the willingness of companies to hire new labour is expected to slow down in the coming months.
Potential recession will not hit the labour market immediately
However, the resilience of the US labour market is illustrated by the Labour Department’s data showing that there were on average 1.74 jobs for every unemployed person at the end of the year. However, if the US economy has already entered, or is about to enter, a recession, this will have a delayed impact on unemployment.
