US Weekly Jobless Claims: 210K

States reported that 210,000 workers filed for new unemployment benefits during the week ending Mar. 16, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The weekly claims are consistent with an overall low level of job-cutting, despite recent high-profile layoff announcements. The unemployment rate has remained under 4 percent over the past two years, the longest such streak since the 1960s.

About 1.8 million workers continue to claim unemployment benefits. The unemployment claims data supports the contention that employers are cutting back on hiring but not laying off workers. The labor market has showed remarkable resilience despite attempts by the Federal Reserve to slow the economy through a series of interest rate hikes.

"Initial jobless claims remain exceptionally low, and continuing claims have stabilized after rising last year.," said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. "The data suggests that companies are holding onto their workers and avoiding new layoffs, and that new hiring—while having slowed last year—is no longer deteriorating. All in all, it remains a tight labor market in which hiring challenges persist."

Takeaway for employers: Though unemployment remains historically low, the looming threat of a government shutdown and broader economic uncertainty has kept employers on their toes. The unemployment claims measures offer employers an insight into how hiring conditions are evolving in a dynamic labor market.