Blizzard hits job market, US initial jobless claims unexpectedly jumped to 231,000 last week.

Last week, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States exceeded market expectations, a phenomenon which may have been influenced by severe snowstorms in many parts of the country. However, the overall state of the US labor market remains stable. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that for the week ending January 31, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims increased by 22,000 to 231,000, higher than the economist's expected 212,000. It is reported that at the end of January, widespread heavy snowfall and cold weather swept through many parts of the United States, leading to temporary unemployment for some individuals. In addition, as the seasonal fluctuations in early data gradually subside, initial jobless claims are showing an upward trend. Despite recent layoffs announced by United Parcel Service (UPS) and Amazon.com, Inc., the US labor market remains in a stable state of "low hiring, low firing" after excluding data disruptions. Economists believe that the uncertainty caused by import tariffs and the continued proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) applications are core reasons for the stagnation of the US labor market. Companies are investing more resources in the field of AI, causing them to become more cautious in their assessment of their own labor demand. However, economists remain cautiously optimistic about job growth this year, as tax reduction policies are expected to support consumer spending and thus drive employment growth. The unemployment benefits report also showed that for the week ending January 24, seasonally adjusted continuing jobless claims (an important indicator reflecting the recruitment situation in the labor market) increased by 25,000 to 1.844 million. It is important to note that this initial jobless claims data does not affect the January nonfarm payroll report scheduled to be released next Wednesday. The nonfarm report, originally scheduled for release last Friday, was postponed due to a recent three-day government shutdown in the United States. Currently, economists expect an average of 70,000 new nonfarm jobs in January, compared to 50,000 in December of last year. The market also predicts that the US unemployment rate will remain at 4.4% in January. Economists suggest that the stable performance of the labor market may prompt the Federal Reserve to maintain interest rates unchanged in the first half of this year. Last week, the Federal Reserve announced that it would maintain the federal funds rate in the range of 3.50% to 3.75%.