Filings for US unemployment benefits dropped last week to match the lowest level since April, a sign the labor market remains healthy even as hiring moderates.
Advertisement
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 252,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 260,000.
The upbeat initial jobless claims data came a day after the USA central bank left interest rates unchanged but strongly signaled it could raise borrowing costs by the end of the year, citing a recent pickup in economic growth and continued progress in the labor market. The streak of initial jobless claims below 300k now extends to 81 consecutive weeks, the longest since 1970.
Applications for unemployment benefits are a proxy for measuring layoffs.
The Fed on Wednesday offered a solid assessment of the labor market, with Fed Chair Janet Yellen saying policymakers continued to expect that labor market conditions “will strengthen somewhat further over time”. The low level of claims suggests that companies are holding onto staff. The data was better than the analyst consensus estimate of 262,000 new claims, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.
Last week coincided with the survey period for the monthly jobs report, and the drop in claims could bode well for the September number when it’s released next month.
Advertisement
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, dropped to 258,500 from 260,750 in the prior week. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits fell to 1.5 percent from 1.6 percent. Unemployment is at a healthy 4.9 percent, and employers have added 204,000 jobs a month over the past year.
