Weekly jobless claims unexpected moved higher last week despite hopes that the U.S. labor market is poised for a strong recovery heading into the fall. Initial filings for unemployment insurance totaled 419,000 for the week ended July 17, well above the 350,000 Dow Jones estimate and more than the upwardly revised 368,000 from the previous period, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Job openings are at a record high, leaving the impression that employers are hiring like never before. But many businesses that laid off workers during the pandemic are already predicting they will need fewer employees in the future.

We were initially anxious about the introduction of robots into our workforce because of the potential disappearance of manual labor jobs. Robots would take over factories, we were told, they’d drive our cars and trucks, and they would do all of the cleaning that janitorial and domestic workers are currently hired to do.

The Department of Labor released its weekly report on new jobless claims Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET.

More U.S. workers are quitting their jobs than at any time in at least two decades, signaling optimism among many professionals while also adding to the struggle companies face trying to keep up with the economic recovery.

The tight labor market is giving workers renewed confidence in their ability to find a better job, and they’re quitting at record rates. Some 4 million people quit their jobs in April, according to the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary released this week, with the largest exits happening in retail trade; professional and business services; and transportation, warehousing and utilities. Workers most likely to quit live in the South, Midwest and West regions.

“Employers are becoming much more cognizant that yes, it’s about money, but also about quality of life.”

U.S. employers boosted hiring in May and raised wages as they competed for workers, with millions of unemployed Americans at home likely because of childcare issues and generous unemployment checks. The Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday offered some assurance that the economic recovery from the pandemic recession was on track after worker shortages also blamed on lingering fears over COVID-19 sharply restrained employment growth in April.

Amazon tells its warehouse employees to think of themselves not as overworked cogs in an enormous, soul-crushing machine, but as “industrial athletes,” and to prepare their bodies for that experience like someone training for a sporting event, according to a pamphlet obtained by Motherboard. The comparison is a troubling euphemism for a company whose workers have almost double the amount of serious injuries as the rest of the warehousing industry and who reportedly are often unable to take bathroom breaks.

In a red-hot economy coming out of a pandemic and lockdowns, with unemployment still far higher than it was pre-Covid, the country is in a striking predicament. Businesses can’t find enough people to hire.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to 498,000 last week, the lowest level since the viral pandemic struck 14 months ago and a sign of the job market’s growing strength as businesses reopen and consumers increase spending.

AFrom t’s restaurants nationwide AlbuquerqueTo New Mexico Fort worth, Texas – The same signs are appearing. Please wait for a while for the staff who appeared. Nobody wants to work anymore. “ The federal government’s expansion of $ 300 weekly unemployment benefits means keeping people at home rather than behind cashiers or in fast-food kitchens. …

Hiring was a huge letdown in April, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by a much less than expected 266,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 6.1% amid an escalating shortage of available workers. Dow Jones estimates had been for 1 million new jobs and an unemployment rate of 5.8%.

The big push is on to blame the American Rescue Plan for businesses not being able to find enough workers to fill their jobs. Business owners—restaurant owners in particular—are lining up to tell reporters how those darn lazy workers would rather stay...

The share of long-term unemployed is rising even as the U.S. jobless rate is falling. That's an unusual dynamic for recessions, economists said.

Accountancy giant staff can choose the hours they work and mix home and office following pandemic.

Declining coronavirus cases, $1,400 stimulus checks and relaxed restrictions on business can only mean one thing: Jobs are coming back —and so is the U.S. economy.

Enhanced unemployment benefits included in the $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief package signed on Thursday by President Biden could keep billions of dollars a week in stimulus flowing into the economy through the summer.

Janitor Gloria Espinoza still vividly remembers the moment she was laid off last year. A supervisor gathered her and her colleagues at a parking lot of the office where she worked in San Francisco and then broke the news. "I thought, 'God, why us?'," Espinoza said. "It was like receiving a bucket of cold water."

Uber drivers must be treated as workers rather than self-employed, the UK's Supreme Court has ruled. The decision could mean thousands of Uber drivers are set to be entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay. The ruling could leave the ride-hailing app facing a hefty compensation bill, and have wider consequences for the gig economy.