Jobless claims rise to 260,000, hovering near 8-month high

More Americans are applying for unemployment claims at exponential rates as fear of a recession lingers.

Jobless claims rose to 260,000 for the week of July 30, nearly 6,000 more than the 254,000 recorded the week before, according to The U.S. Department of Labor.

The four-week ‘moving average’ saw a 6,000 increase from the previous week, to 254,750.

Meanwhile, for the week of July 23, 1,416,000 claims were reported, an increase from 48,000 the week before.

Jobless claims increased the last week of July as job openings decreased in June

On Tuesday, the Labor Department further announced that job openings fell in June to 10.7 million from 11.3 million in May.

Jobs dipped in June below 11 million in job openings is the first since November. The number of people that quit their jobs dipped to 4.2 million in June, while layoffs totaled 1.3 million.

Layoffs in June decreased in wholesale trade, finance and insurance, and federal government sectors. 

The job sectors with the highest rate of people leaving, included transportation, warehousing and utilities, durable goods manufacturing, and educational services.

In workspaces, job openings increased in places with 1,000 to 4,999 employees in June, according to the report. Coincidentally, the hiring rate decreased in workspaces with 1,000 to 4,999 employees and businesses with 5,000 or more employees.

In June, jobs dipped below 11 million in openings is the first since November. About 4.2 million quit there job while another 1.3 million were laid off

While the future of the labor market remains uncertain, some big name companies have already made massive layoffs, including Tesla, Netflix, Carvana, and Redfin, according to the Associated Press.

Tesla announced in June that the company was cutting about 200 employees from its office in San Mateo, Calif. 

The company told at least 195 of the location’s 276 staffers at the office were told their positions had been eliminated, while those that remained were told they would be relocated, according to TechCrunch.

Those laid off were considered ‘moderately low-skilled, low-wage’ workers that often did jobs like determining if the company’s driver assistance program correctly identified objects.

CEO Elon Musk said said at the time in an interview that he plans to cut about 10 percent of the company’s salary staff and will instead hire more hourly workers.

The billionaire sent an internal email warning earlier this month of the need for cuts amid a gloomy economic outlook due to inflation and the brutal war in Ukraine. Musk himself said he had a ‘super bad feeling’ about the economy.

CEO Elon Musk said in an interview that he plans to cut about 10 percent of the company’s salary staff and will instead hire more hourly workers

Tesla is cutting about 200 employees from its office in San Mateo, California as part of continued cuts by the electric car giants that will see the location close altogether