US Jobless Claims Fall for a Fifth Week Amid Strong Labor Demand [View all]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Thu Sep 15, 2022, 08:14 AM - Edit history (1)

Markets
Economics

US Jobless Claims Fall for a Fifth Week Amid Strong Labor Demand
-- California, Texas and New York had the biggest declines
-- Continuing claims increase slightly, still near historic lows

By Augusta Saraiva
September 15, 2022 at 8:33 AM EDT Updated onSeptember 15, 2022 at 8:43 AM EDT

Applications for US unemployment insurance fell for a fifth straight week, suggesting demand for workers remains healthy despite an uncertain economic outlook.

Initial unemployment claims decreased by 5,000 to 213,000 in the week ended Sept. 10, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 227,000 new applications.

The four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility from week to week, dropped to 224,000 -- the lowest since June. ... Continuing claims rose slightly to 1.4 million in the week ended Sept. 3, still historically low.

Jobless claims have been dropping as employers are still trying to fill millions of open positions and retain the workers they already have. However, the trend may reverse course as the Federal Reserve pursues an aggressive path of interest-rate hikes to reign in demand across the economy, including for labor.

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