WASHINGTON >> The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased marginally during the last week of September, data from Haver Analytics showed, pointing to a still-low level of layoffs even as hiring has stalled.

The labor market has stagnated with businesses not firing employees on a large scale, but also reluctant to hire more workers. Economists have blamed the labor market paralysis on President Donald Trump’s trade and immigration policies as well as the growing popularity of artificial intelligence, which have combined to reduce demand and labor supply.

A U.S. government shutdown, now in its sixth day, has resulted in the suspension of official data collection and publication, complicating decision-making for policymakers at the Federal Reserve, in

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