Apart from billionaires, no one seems to feel good about the economy right now – but by one key measure, Americans are doing better than ever.
The latest report from the Department of Labor showed that applications for unemployment benefits have plunged to an almost 60-year low. First-time benefit claims dropped by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted estimate of 187,000 claims for the week ending on July 18 – a low not reached since September 1969.
Because first-time applications for unemployment benefits track with layoffs, the new numbers suggest that some of the biggest fears around layoffs in the U.S. economy aren’t manifesting in job losses, at least right now. Continuing unemployment claims stayed mostly the same during the same time period, dipping by 2,000 claims to 1.8 million, following a 7,000 claim drop the week prior.
The new Department of Labor numbers capture an interesting moment in time, but they don’t provide a full picture of what Americans are facing in the current job market. While fewer people are losing their jobs right now, many economic observers believe the U.S. is still in a “low-fire, low-hire” environment in which many employers aren’t laying people off, but they aren’t actively bringing new workers into the mix either.
Positive signs, negative sentiment
In 2026, job growth is perking up some, but remains well under what it was just a few years ago or prior to the pandemic. Payrolls in the private sector grew by an average of 88,000 in the first half of the year, outpacing growth in 2025 and 2024 but not matching the speed of job gains in 2023. In June, hiring missed expectations, with U.S. employers only adding 57,000 new jobs – less than half of the jobs added in the month prior. June also saw the promising jobs numbers from the prior two months revised down, meaning that 74,000 fewer jobs were added than initially reported.
As Glassdoor Chief Economist Daniel Zhao put it, “the fireworks show was cancelled” in June. “The downward revisions and deceleration in jobs growth reverse some of the optimism in recent months that the job market had been on the verge of accelerating to a new pace, leaving workers waiting still a little longer for a hotter job market to alleviate their frustration,” Zhao said.
If the new unemployment numbers are promising on paper, many Americans aren’t feeling it. A recent CNBC survey found that 61% of registered voters are pessimistic about the current economy and its near-future picture – the survey’s most negative outcome since late 2023. Only 25% of respondents said they were feeling optimistic. The same survey found that more than 60% of people said they were cutting back on non-essential spending, like eating at restaurants and splashing out for entertainment. Even with inflation slowing last month, many Americans aren’t seeing much to celebrate in the current economy.
“Overall, the US labor market appears to be springing back from a subdued 2025, but it may be too early to conclude that downside risks have dissipated,” a July report from Deloitte’s Global Economics Research Center stated, noting that consumer spending is slowing and it’s becoming clear that the explosion of AI investment in the tech industry – a major source of unease among workers – isn’t translating to the world’s most powerful companies hiring more human workers any time soon.
