Recent reports about the US labour market show it is stabilizing despite concerns about the US economy and prices. Jobless claims have fallen to levels not seen in years, while Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported a pickup in private business hiring activity in April. The US labour market was shaky throughout 2025, but it has shown signs of stabilizing in recent months. The US Federal Reserve Board (Fed) will closely monitor labour market conditions as it makes its monetary policy decisions amid geopolitical tensions, which have driven prices higher.

• Continuing jobless claims in the US fell to 1.766 million over the week ended April 25, which is the lowest amount since January 2024. The measure shows the number of unemployed persons receiving unemployment benefits.
• Meanwhile, initial jobless claims edged higher to 200,000 over the week ended May 2 from 190,000 in the previous week. Despite the increase, the four-week moving average is down to 203,250, which is also the lowest level since early 2024.
• Earlier this week, ADP reported that private businesses in the US added 109,000 jobs in April, up from the 61,000 job additions in the previous month.
• This marked the highest number of job additions by private businesses since January 2025.
• Another report showed US-based employers announced 83,387 job cuts in April. While up from March, it was a 20.9% decline over the same month last year. Most of the announced job cuts were from the technology industry, where artificial intelligence was cited as the primary reason for the job cuts.

The US Department of Labor will release today its labour market report, which includes the unemployment rate and nonfarm payrolls. Regardless, recent data has pointed to improvements in the US labour market. Still, there are risk factors that could derail the recent progress in the labour market, including higher prices, economic uncertainty and waning consumer and business confidence.

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