In Washington, the Labor Department reported a slight increase in the number of Americans filing new unemployment benefit claims last week. This rise is attributed to the challenges that companies are facing due to President Donald Trump's import tariffs. Specifically, initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 to 223,000 for the week ending April 5, slightly exceeding economists' expectations.

Trump's tariffs have negatively impacted business and consumer confidence, which can lead to reduced investment, spending, and job demand. However, despite these challenges, the economy added 228,000 jobs in March, even though the unemployment rate increased to 4.2% from 4.1% in February.

Following initial tariff implementations, Trump decided to halt targeted tariffs on trade partners for 90 days, resulting in some stability after market turbulence. Nevertheless, tensions with China escalated as tariffs were hiked. The EU postponed retaliatory measures against U.S. tariffs, while a general 10% tariff on most U.S. imports remains.

Despite concerns about economic impact, there is no immediate evidence that government worker layoffs are significantly affecting the job market. Although overall layoffs have been low, hiring rates have been modest, leading to lengthy unemployment periods for some job seekers.

The number of individuals receiving benefits after an initial assistance week, considered an indicator for hiring trends, decreased by 43,000 to 1.850 million during the week ending March 29, according to the claims report by Lucia Mutikani.