Applications for unemployment benefits are seen as representative of U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market. That, combined with the government’s own sluggish labour market data, has left Americans increasingly pessimistic about the economy. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower. The 2025 numbers represent the smallest annual job gains since the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the job market in 2020. The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the previous week ending Jan. 17 fell by 38,000 to 1.83 million, the government said.