Claims are near levels last seen in 1973 and there is little room for further declines as the labour market normalises.
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In second report, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 269,000 for the week ended November 28. Employers have added an average of 206,000 jobs a month so far this year, enough to lower the unemployment rate over time. It’s expected to go lower in the months ahead. Now, reports are released monthly.
The November gain of 2,300 jobs puts the trucking total at 1.4555 million, but the new report revised the October jobs total downward by 1,400, making for a loss from September rather the small rise that was originally reported.
Fed policy makers will use jobs data to help them decide whether they should raise their benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2006.
In a broader measure of how many American workers were filing new claims, the four-week moving average, which smooths volatility, fell by 1,750 to 269,250. There were 1,355 oil-related job cuts, the fewest since June.
The government’s number of initial claims is a significant gauge of national layoffs and analysts say last week’s seasonally adjusted numbers are a positive sign for the department’s jobs report, due Friday. According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls likely increased 200,000 last month after rising 271,000 in October.
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With layoffs at the lowest level in years and hiring on an upward march, the unemployment rate has tumbled to 5%. The department said there were no special factors impacting the data.
