US Jobless Claims Drop Sharply, Fed Rate Cuts Look Less Urgent

US initial jobless claims fell sharply in the final week of December, reinforcing signs of labor market resilience and complicating expectations for early interest rate cuts in 2026. Initial claims for the week ending December 27 dropped to 199,000, the lowest level since late November and well below forecasts of 220,000. The prior week’s figure was revised higher to 215,000, making the latest decline more pronounced. Strong Labor Data Pushes Back Fed Easing Expectations At a headline level, the data signals that layoffs remain limited source: https://beincrypto.com/us-jobless-claims-fed-rate-cut-hopes-crypto-q1-2026/