Jobless claims rose last week but remained historically low, indicating the labor market is on strong footing as Covid-19 cases of the Omicron variant decline.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to a seasonally adjusted 248,000 last week from 225,000 a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week moving average, which smooths volatility, fell slightly to 243,250.
