Jobless Claims Fell Last Week

By Matt Grossman

Fewer Americans newly filed for unemployment benefits last week, showing the economy has avoided a big rise in layoffs.

In the week through May 17, 227,000 initial jobless claims were filed, compared with 229,000 a week earlier. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see 230,000 initial jobless claims.

Continuing claims, a measure of the overall size of the unemployed population, rose to 1.9 million in the week through May 10, compared with 1.87 million a week earlier. The continuing-claims data lag the data on new unemployment claims by a week.

The White House's early-April shock round of global tariffs sparked fears of a quick economic slowdown, but President Trump's retreat from the highest bilateral leives--including a pause on sky-high new tariffs on China--have calmed those concerns somewhat.

A panoply of surveys shows that businesses and consumers remain on edge, but the economic uncertainty hasn't yet shown a drag on the labor market. Many companies have said they are postponing big decisions until they get more clarity.

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com