Initial jobless claims reached 224,000 last week, edging downward from the prior period, according to the Labor Department. The tally was slightly below an estimate of economists surveyed by Reuters.

Full-time US employees have worked fewer hours over the past five years, with the average dropping from 44.1 hours per week in 2019 to 42.9 hours in 2024, according to Gallup. Younger employees have cut their hours more significantly than their older counterparts, a trend possibly driven by declining employee well-being, increased efficiency through technology and a higher priority on work-life balance.

McKinsey's recent research highlights the critical link between employee health and economic productivity, estimating a potential value of $11.7 trillion. Key insights include the impact of presenteeism -- where employees are present but not fully productive -- on economic output, and that older workers tend to report better health than younger ones, who face higher burnout rates.

AI in equal parts is impacting cybersecurity, serving as both a tool for defense and a means for more sophisticated attacks. Cybercriminals use it to enhance phishing, spear-phishing and deepfake scams and make them harder to detect, says Dan Lohrmann of tech consulting firm Presidio. He notes that security teams are also leveraging AI to improve on threat detection methods.

AI is rapidly transforming recruiting, with companies like Unilever and Chipotle leveraging it for efficiency and speed. However, candidates express frustration with automated responses and fear losing the human touch. "Technology over time will get better in managing the candidate experience, even if today, it is not meeting candidate expectations," promises Terry Terhark, CEO of NXTThing, a talent acquisition company.