WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in more than three years during Thanksgiving week, potentially complicating the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision on interest rates.
The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits for the week ending Nov. 29 fell to 191,000 from the previous week’s 218,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the lowest level since September 24, 2022, when claims came in at 189,000. Analysts surveyed by the data provider FactSet had forecast initial claims of 221,000.
Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, said that unemployment benefit filings are often distorted by the Thanksgiving holiday, which can cause some people who may have lost jobs to delay filing claims.
Still, the low claims figure also suggests that overall layoffs remain muted, despite the high-profile announcements. Hiring is also sluggish, which makes finding a job for those out of work challenging.
“The labor market is kind of frozen,” Bostjancic said. “Companies are in wait-and-see mode.”
Applications for unemployment aid are viewed as a proxy for layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market. The job cuts announced recently by large companies such as UPS, General Motors, Amazon and Verizon typically take weeks or months to fully implement and may not be reflected in Thursday’s data.
For now, the U.S. job market appears stuck in a “low-hire, low-fire” state that has kept the unemployment rate historically low.
On Wednesday, private payroll data firm ADP estimated U.S. job losses of 32,000 in November. The surprisingly weak report may be discouraging for people looking for jobs, but it bolstered expectations that the Fed will cut its main interest rate next week.
It’s not clear how much weight this week’s layoff figures will carry with the Fed as the numbers can be volatile and prone to revisions.
Complicating the Fed’s upcoming decision is inflation, which remains above the central bank’s 2% target. The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation will be released in a government report on Friday and will also be factored into its rate call on Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, the government said that hiring picked up a bit in September, when employers added 119,000 new jobs. That mixed report, which also showed employers had shed jobs in August, was delayed due to the government shutdown. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, its highest level in four years.
November’s comprehensive jobs data has been delayed for release until later this month, after the Fed’s meeting, also due to the government shutdown.
The government also recently reported that retail sales slowed in September after three months of healthy increases.
Consumer confidence has plunged to its second-lowest level in five years, while wholesale inflation eased a bit.
The data suggests that both the economy and inflation are slowing, which has boosted financial markets’ expectations that the Federal Reserve will reduce its key interest rate at its meeting next week. If the Fed does reduce its benchmark rate next week, it would be the third cut of the year as it attempts to support a job market that has been slowing for months.
Thursday's report from Labor also showed that the four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 9,500 to 214,750.
The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the previous week ending Nov. 22 dipped by 4,000 to 1.94 million, the government said.
AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.
FILE - "Help Wanted" sign is displayed at a dry cleaner in Rolling Meadows, Ill., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, file)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Retired NBA great Michael Jordan took the stand at the landmark NASCAR antitrust case Friday and testified that he has been a fan of the stock car series since he was a child but felt he had little choice but to sue to force changes in a business model he sees shortchanging teams and drivers risking their lives to keep the sport going.
Jordan testified before a packed courtroom for an hour. His celebrity drew quips from the judge and even a defense attorney as he outlined why the team he co-owns, 23XI, had joined Front Row Motorsports in going to court against the top auto racing series in the United States.
“Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity,” the soft-spoken Jordan told the jury. “I sat in those meetings with longtime owners who were brow-beaten for so many years trying to make change. I was a new person, I wasn’t afraid. I felt I could challenge NASCAR as a whole. I felt as far as the sport, it needed to be looked at from a different view.”
Jordan's highy anticipated appearance followed dramatic testimony from Heather Gibbs, the daughter-in-law of race team owner Joe Gibbs, about the chaotic six-hour period in which teams had to sign an extension or forfeit the charters that guarantee revenue week to week throughout NASCAR's 38-race season.
“The document was something in business you would never sign,” said Heather Gibbs, who is also a licensed real estate agent. “It was like a gun to your head: if you don't sign, you have nothing.”
Charters are the equivalent of the franchise model used in other sports and in NASCAR it guarantees every chartered car a spot in every race, plus a defined payout from the series. The system was created in 2016, and during the two-plus years of bitter negotiations on an extension teams begged for the renewable charters to be made permanent for revenue stability.
When NASCAR refused to make them permanent and gave the teams six hours in September 2024 to sign the 112-page extension, 23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations out of 15 to refuse. They instead filed the antitrust suit and the trial opened Monday to hear their allegations that NASCAR is a monopolistic bully. 23XI is co-owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row is owned by fast food franchiser Bob Jenkins.
Jordan testified that 23XI bought a third charter late in 2024 for $28 million even with all the uncertainty.
“I’m pretty sure they know I love to win," the six-time NBA champion said. "Denny convinced me getting a third driver improved our chances to win, so I dove in.”
Like other witnesses this week, Jordan described a NASCAR that refused to discuss options or potential changes to the charter system, which he supports. He was asked why 23XI didn't sign the extensions last fall.
“One, I didn’t think it was economically viable. Two, it said you could not sue NASCAR, that was an antitrust violation, I felt. Three, they gave us an ultimatum I didn’t think was fair to 23XI," Jordan said, adding: “I wanted a partnership and permanent charters wasn’t even a consideration. The pillars that the teams wanted, no one on the NASCAR side even negotiated or compromised. They were not even open-minded to welcome those conversations, so this is where we ended up.”
Jordan referred to the NBA business model, which shares approximately half its revenue with players, far more than NASCAR.
“The revenue split was far less than any business I’ve ever been a part of. We didn’t think we’d ever get to what basketball was getting but we wanted to move in that direction," he said. “The thing I see in NASCAR that I think is absent is a shared responsibility of growth as well as loss.”
Jordan said he owns 60% of 23XI and has invested $35 million to $40 million in the team, which first fielded cars in 2021. Jenkins testified earlier this week that has not turned a profit since launching his team in the early 2000s and estimates he has lost $100 million.
Heather Gibbs earlier told the jury how she became co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing the day after her husband, Coy, unexpectedly died in his sleep the same night their son, Ty, won NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series championship in 2022. Coy Gibbs had moved into a leadership role with JGR following the death of his older brother, J.D., in 2019.
Because Je Gibbs had lost both his sons and had built the team as a legacy for his family, his daughter-in-law took an active role in the organization and participated in negotiations for the charter extensions. When NASCAR made its final offer at 6 p.m. on a Friday night without permanent charters, she said her team was devastated. She said her father-in-law called NASCAR chairman Jim France pleading for a resolution.
“Joe said, ‘Jim, you can’t do this,'” she said. “And Jim was done with the conversation.”
Heather Gibbs said she had to leave to take her son to a baseball game in Chapel Hill and left worried about her father-in-law, who was 84 at the time.
“I left him sitting in the dark, listening to his blood sugar monitors going off,” she testified. “We decided we had to sign. We can't lose everything. I did not think it was a fair deal to the teams.”
Joe Gibbs is both a Hall of Fame NASCAR owner and NFL Hall of Fame coach. He led the Washington football team to three Super Bowl titles and JGR has won five Cup Series championships. JGR has 450 employees, charters for four Cup cars and relies solely on outside sponsorship and investors to stay afloat. The team will mark its 35th season next year and Gibbs told the jury that JGR needs permanent charters to protect its investment.
“It’s the most important point, a permanent place in their history books,” she testified. “It is absolutely vital to the teams for us to know we have security, it can’t be taken away, to know what we’ve invested in is ours.”
23XI and Front Row likewise have said they will likely go out of business without charters after racing this season without them.
Jordan praised France but also singled him out.
“I’m not discrediting the things NASCAR has done for the sport but I’m pushing them to be better,” Jordan testified. “The risk is to the drivers and the teams. The credit is not being given to the drivers who risk their lives every week without an insurance policy or union. There is nothing to benefit them.”
“I never saw Jim France drive a car. I never saw Jim France risk his life,” he added. “I’d like to give a little more credit to those who do.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Michael Jordan arriving to federal courthouse to testify in NASCAR antitrust case on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025 in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo)
FILE - Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, left, and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin arrive in the Western District of North Carolina on Monday Dec 1, 2025 in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jenna Fryer, File)
NASCAR chairman Jim France enters federal court in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday Dec 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenna Fryer)
FILE - Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, sits in his pit box during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill, File)
