Jobless claims fall to one-month low of 212,000. Layoffs still small.

After the usual ups and downs during the holiday season, new jobless claims appear to have settled in a low 210,000 to 220,000 range. Businesses are not hiring as much as they were last year, but they are not cutting many jobs, either.

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total 220,000 in the seven days ending Feb. 10, based on seasonally adjusted figures.

Big picture: A robust labor market — the unemployment rate is still extremely low at 3.7% — has helped to fuel steady consumer spending.

Yet hiring has tapered off and wage growth has slowed, potentially helping the Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation. That could pave the way for the central bank to cut interest rates by the summer if the labor market cools a bit further.

Key details: New jobless claims fell in 41 of the 53 states and territories that report these figures to the federal government. They rose in 10 others.

The number of people collecting unemployment benefits in the U.S., meanwhile, rose by 30,000 to 1.9 million.

These so-called continuing claims have risen steadily since last year in a sign it’s taking longer for people to find new jobs. They are now at roughly the same level as they were before the pandemic.

Looking at actual or unadjusted figures, initial jobless claims are still lower than they were a year ago. That’s another sign of the durability of the U.S. labor market.

Looking ahead: “The dichotomy between exceptionally low initial claims and the recent rise in continuing claims suggests that the U.S. labor market is slowing, and that workers who lose their jobs are having a more difficult time finding new work,” said economic advisor Stuart Hoffman of PNC Financial Services.

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
and S&P 500
SPX
were set to open higher in Thursday trading.