By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, a sign that companies aren’t cutting many jobs.

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Jobless claims for the week ended June 21 dropped 10,000 to 236,000, a historically-low level. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, dipped 750 to 245,000.

Applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs, and so the decline is evidence that businesses are mostly holding onto their employees. Yet separate data suggests hiring also remains cool, in what economists are referring to as a “no hire, no fire” job market.

The unemployment rate remains low, though there are signs that the economy is slowing. So far this year, employers have added a solid but unspectacular 124,000 jobs a month, down from an average 168,000 last year. Most of the hiring has been concentrated in a few industries, specifically health care, restaurants and hotels, and government. Layoffs have mostly remained low, but hiring has also been weak.

Yet for many job-seekers, the sluggish creation of new jobs has been a challenge. Recent college graduates are facing the toughest job market in more than a decade. The unemployment rate for grads aged 22 to 27 is now higher than the overall jobless rate, and the gap between the two is the widest it has been in more than 30 years.

The difficulty many of the unemployed are having in finding work can be seen in the number of people continuing to claim unemployment aid, which rose 37,000 to 1.97 million for the week ending June 14. That is the most since November 2021.

Separately, the economy shrank 0.5% at an annual rate in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department said Thursday, a worse showing than its previous estimate of a 0.2% decline. A flood of imports swamped the economy as companies rushed to bring in foreign goods before the Trump administration’s tariffs took effect.

A category within the GDP data that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a 1.9% annual rate from January through March, down from 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.

Minnesota seemingly made a selection for the future with the No. 17 pick in the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday when it nabbed French center Joan Beringer.

The 18 year old defensive stopper is relatively inexperienced and still an evolving player, but he’s another key piece to Minnesota’s developing youthful core building on the bench who can learn from fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert.

What did national analysts think of the selection?

Draft grades varied:

Sporting news: B+

What they said: The future of the frontcourt in Minnesota is in flux, and the franchise took a step toward adding some clarity by adding Beringer, arguably the best shot blocker in this draft class.

Beringer has a 9-3 standing reach and won’t turn 19 until November. It’s hard to think of a better mentor for a young, French shot blocker than Rudy Gobert, meaning Beringer has fallen into a great situation.

CBS Sports: A

What they said: He’s very young. He doesn’t turn 19 until November and has only played for a few years. But he’s just under 7-feet without shoes and has better than a 7-foot-4 wingspan. He’s an extreme athlete with excellent mobility and good hands. His archetype is a rim-running shot blocker and lob threat. That’s very valued in today’s NBA. In Minnesota, Beringer gets to learn under Rudy Gobert — and could potentially take over for him a few years down the road. That’s a great succession plan at the center spot.

NBC Sports: B

What they said: This was the Timberwolves picking the best player they saw on the board rather than thinking fit — Minnesota doesn’t really have a need for another center right now. Beringer is a bit of a project, but he showed potential as a shot-blocking, rim-running big in the Adriatic League last season. He has good athleticism and the Timberwolves can play the long game with him and give him time to develop.

Yahoo Sports: C-

What they said: He’s one of the rawest projects in the entire draft. Makes you wonder what the Wolves’ plan is with the other bigs on the roster, notably Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle. Beringer dunks everything around the basket. He’s a rim protector and has shown improvement in other aspects of his defense. An area he’ll need to improve on is he was a hackable player you didn’t fear sending to the free-throw line. He’s a worker, though, and wants to get better.

USA Today: C

What they said: The issue with Rudy Gobert is that his offensive game can be inconsistent. And Minnesota’s consecutive trips to the Western Conference finals proved that the Timberwolves need more scoring, particularly when teams game plan to take Anthony Edwards out of rhythm. Joan Beringer is only 18, so he’s a project and doesn’t necessarily help Minnesota get over the hump in the short term. He’s explosive and full of potential. Minnesota’s window to win, however, is now, and plenty of plug-and-play prospects were available at 17.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court allowed states to cut off Medicaid money to Planned Parenthood in a ruling handed down Thursday amid a wider Republican-backed push to defund the country’s biggest abortion provider.

The case centers on funding for other health care services Planned Parenthood provides in South Carolina, but the ruling could have broader implications for Medicaid patients.

The court split 6-3 in the opinion, with the three liberal justices dissenting.

Public health care money generally can’t be used to pay for abortions. Medicaid patients go to Planned Parenthood for things like contraception, cancer screenings and pregnancy testing, in part because it can be tough to find a doctor who takes the publicly funded insurance, the organization has said.

South Carolina’s Republican governor says no taxpayer money should go the organization. The budget bill backed by President Donald Trump in Congress would also cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. That could force the closure of about 200 centers, most of them in states where abortion is legal, the organization has said.

Gov. Henry McMaster first moved to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood in 2018 but was blocked in court after a lawsuit from a patient named Julie Edwards. Edwards wanted to keep going there for birth control because her diabetes makes pregnancy potentially dangerous, so she sued over a provision in Medicaid law that allows patients to choose their own qualified provider.

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South Carolina, though, argued that patients shouldn’t be able to file those lawsuits. The state pointed to lower courts that have been swayed by similar arguments and allowed states such as Texas to block Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood.

Public health groups like the American Cancer Society, by contrast, said in court papers that lawsuits are the only real way that Medicaid patients have been able to enforce their right to choose their own doctor. Losing that right would reduce access to health care for people on the program, which is estimated to include one-quarter of everyone in the country. Rural areas could be especially affected, advocates said in court papers.

In South Carolina, $90,000 in Medicaid funding goes to Planned Parenthood every year, a tiny fraction of the state’s total Medicaid spending. The state banned abortion at about six weeks’ gestation after the high court overturned it as a nationwide right in 2022.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

By LISA MASCARO, AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a key Medicaid provider tax overhaul that is central to President Donald Trump’s big tax cut and spending bill does not adhere to procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow to Republicans rushing to finish the massive package this week.

The guidance Thursday from the parliamentarian is rarely ignored, and it forces GOP leaders to consider options. Senate leaders could try to revise it or strip it from the package. Otherwise, the provision could be challenged during floor votes, requiring a 60-vote threshold to keep it, a tall order in the narrowly split Senate. Democrats are unified against the Republican president’s bill.

Republican leaders are relying on the provider tax change to save billions of dollars from the Medicaid health care program for the massive tax cuts package. But they had been struggling to rally support because several GOP senators warn it would harm rural hospitals who depend on the funds.

The outcome is a setback as Senate Republicans hoped to launch votes on the package by the end of the week, to meet Trump’s Fourth of July deadline for passage.

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