Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, signaling that layoffs remain relatively low even as concerns grow over how tariffs might affect the economy.
According to the Labor Department, jobless claims for the week ending June 28 dropped by 4,000 to a total of 233,000—lower than the 241,000 expected by analysts. These applications are often viewed as a reflection of the rate of layoffs across the country.
In a separate release, the Labor Department also reported that U.S. employers added 147,000 jobs in June, far surpassing expectations. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, down from 4.2% in May. Economists had predicted it would rise to 4.3%, making the actual figures a sign of continued strength in the labor market despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
While the job market remains robust by historical standards, some areas of weakness have begun to appear, especially as businesses face the impact of recent government trade policies. Tariffs, in particular, are raising costs for both companies and consumers. Economists generally warn that tariffs reduce market efficiency by limiting competition and may provoke retaliatory measures from trading partners—outcomes that can stall hiring and lead to layoffs.
Although many proposed tariffs are not yet active, several are scheduled to take effect next week unless trade agreements are reached. Experts caution that these could slow economic growth and potentially fuel another round of inflation.
Some major U.S. companies have already responded with job cuts this year, including Procter & Gamble, Meta (Facebook’s parent company), Workday, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, and Dow. Microsoft recently announced plans to lay off about 9,000 workers—its second major round of job cuts this year and its largest in over two years. Earlier in the month, Google offered voluntary buyouts to employees in a new wave of cost-cutting efforts, ahead of an expected legal ruling that could force a breakup of parts of its business.
The four-week average of unemployment claims, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, declined by 3,750 to 241,500. Meanwhile, the total number of Americans receiving unemployment aid remained steady at 1.97 million for the week ending June 21.
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