US Jobless Claims Fell Last Week

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, offering fresh signs of a rapidly strengthening labor market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 289,000 for the week ended March 7, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

That unwound much of the prior two weeks’ increases, which had pushed claims well above the 300,000 mark. Harsh weather caused volatility in claims for much of this year.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 305,000 last week. A Labor Department analyst said there was nothing unusual in the state-level data.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 3,750 to 302,250 last week.

The government reported last week that the economy added 295,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate fell to a more than 6-1/2-year low of 5.5 percent.

via CNBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.