Labor Market , Remains Healthy , Despite Rising Unemployment.<br />ABC News reports that America's labor market remains strong, despite the number of new applications <br />for unemployment benefits rising slightly last week.<br />For the week ending May 27, new applications for , jobless claims rose to 232,000, , climbing 2,000 from the week before.<br />The overall labor market reportedly remains <br />healthy as the four-week moving average <br />of claims dropped by 2,500 to reach 229,500.<br />ABC reports that the four-week <br />moving average tends to <br />flatten out some weekly volatility.<br />In April, the unemployment rate <br />dropped to 3.4% to reach a 54-year <br />low as employers added 253,00 jobs. .<br />However, repeated interest rate hikes by the Federal <br />Reserve may be cooling the job market, as numbers for <br />February and March were revised down by 149,000 jobs.<br />ABC reports that analysts expect the May <br />jobs report to show that employers <br />added 188,000 jobs for the month.<br />On May 31, the government reported <br />that employers posted 10.1 million job <br />openings, the highest since January.<br />ABC reports that the higher-than-expected job openings, combined with layoff data and an upcoming jobs report, could impact the Fed's next rate hike. .<br />ABC reports that the higher-than-expected job openings, combined with layoff data and an upcoming jobs report, could impact the Fed's next rate hike. .<br />As of the week ending May 20, 1.8 million people <br />in the U.S. were collecting unemployment benefits, <br />rising by nearly 6,000 from the week before. .<br />As of the week ending May 20, 1.8 million people <br />in the U.S. were collecting unemployment benefits, <br />rising by nearly 6,000 from the week before.
