Applications for unemployment benefits in the United States reached a three-month high last week, which is a sign that the labor market is beginning to loosen its grip after a wave of layoffs at technology businesses. According to figures released by the Labor Department on Wednesday, the U.S. jobless claims rose by 17,000 to a total of 240,000. According to the results of a study conducted by Bloomberg with economists, the median estimate was 225,000.
U.S. Jobless Claims Highest Since March
Continuing claims, which include people who have already received unemployment benefits for a week or more, increased by 48,000 to 1.55 million in the week that ended on November 12, the highest level since March. Continuing claims include people who have already received unemployment benefits for a week or more. In addition to that, that was the sixth consecutive weekly gain in total.
In recent weeks, economists have been paying more attention to continuing claims since in the past, these numbers have served as leading indicators that predicted the onset of recessions. Although the gauge has increased from its lows in May of this year, it is still significantly below the levels it reached last year and the averages it has seen throughout history.
Blue Chips Lead Mass Layoff
Amazon.com Inc., Meta — the parent company of Facebook, and personal computer maker HP Inc., which announced this week that it would eliminate as many as 6,000 jobs, are just some of the prominent technology companies that have been adding their names to the growing list of companies that have announced job cuts or hiring freezes.
Read More: Mass Layoffs At Meta Announced
Because many tech companies had increased hiring during the pandemic-era e-commerce boom, the rising layoffs in the industry may not necessarily foreshadow weakness in the broader economy. This is due to the fact that the e-commerce boom had occurred before the epidemic. Nevertheless, other fields are not exempt from the problem. Workers in FedEx Corporation’s freight unit are being given unpaid leave in advance of the holiday season, which is often the busiest time of the year for the company.
Different Story In Web3
However, in the Web3 landscape, companies have increased their hiring appetite to meet the growing demands of the industry. Crypto giant Binance recently announced a fresh hiring of 8000 people by the year-end.
At the time of this tweet 👇, @Binance had 5900 people. Today we have 7400+ people. Targeting 8000 or so by end of year.
Hiring continues. https://t.co/p69p5aqrXe
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 21, 2022
Market Reaction
Reacting to the news of the rise in U.S. jobless claims, the cryptocurrency king, Bitcoin, rose by 0.8% in the past 1 hour and recorded an increase of 2% in the last 24 hours. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is currently trading at $16,500 and holding strong above the $15k price mark.
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Source: https://coingape.com/bitcoin-gains-us-jobless-claims-touch-240000/