Today's reading from the US Department of Labor showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to 198k, remaining near the 52-year low of 188k hit at the beginning of December and below analysts’ estimates of 208k. The 4-week moving average of claims, which removes week-to-week volatility, fell to 199.25k, the lowest level since October 1969, while continuing jobless claims decreased to 1716k from 1856k in the previous week. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, however, initial claims were slightly up by 1.1k to 256k, with notable increases being recorded in New Jersey (4.6k), Pennsylvania (3.3k), Michigan (2.8k) and Ohio (2.5k), and the largest declines being reported in California (-6.6k), Texas (-4.3k) and Virginia (-2.1k).
Jobless claims dropped by 8k to 198k, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Source: Bloomberg via ZeroHedge
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Continuing jobless claims dropped to the lowest level since March 2020. Source: Bloomberg via ZeroHedge
The latest jobless claims figures point to improving labour market conditions and therefore give the Fed more reasons to accelerate the pace of the tapering process and tighten monetary policy sooner than expected. Nevertheless a lot will depend on next week's NFP report.
