Continuing unemployment benefit applications are now at their highest in more than three years.
Data released Thursday (Dec. 26) by the U.S. Labor Department showed these applications — typically seen as a stand-in for the number of people getting benefits — climbing to 1.91 million for the week ending Dec. 14.
The data also showed initial claims — a proxy for the number of people being laid off — were down somewhat, 219,000 for the week ending Dec. 21.
“The low level of initial jobless claims this year reflects the low take-up rate of unemployment benefits — due to ineligibility for some persons, and a lack of incentives to apply among those who are eligible,” said Eliza Winger, Bloomberg economist.
“The surge of continuing jobless claims, with laid-off workers facing longer stretches of unemployment, shows the labor market slowing.”
The new data comes days after the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index showed consumer confidence falling in December, with a growing number of Americans expressing concerns about politics and tariffs.
The index dropped by 8.1 points to 104.7, a move that reversed a November rebound in consumer confidence and brought the index back to the middle of the range it has been in for the past two years.
The December results showed a 1.2-point decline in the Present Situation Index, which measures consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions, and a 12.6-point dip in the Expectations Index, which tracks consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions.
“While weaker consumer assessments of the present situation and expectations contributed to the decline, the expectations component saw the sharpest drop,” Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said in a news release. “Consumer views of current labor market conditions continued to improve, consistent with recent jobs and unemployment data, but their assessment of business conditions weakened.”
An increasing share of consumers said their views on the economy were being impacted by tariffs and the outcome of November’s election, with 46% of consumers saying tariffs will raise the cost of living, while 21% expect tariffs to create jobs.
The index came days after the release of the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers for December, showing that consumer sentiment rose 3.1% in December and reached its highest point since April.
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