It's Thursday, and the new unemployment numbers are out, initial claims fell by 2,000 to 210,000 as versus the predicted increase to 213,000, and continuing claims were unchanged at 1.81 million.
Initial applications for US unemployment benefits held near historically low levels last week, underscoring the resilience of the labor market.
Initial claims decreased by 2,000 to 210,000 in the week ended March 16, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 213,000.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving unemployment benefits, were also little changed at 1.81 million in the week ended March 9.
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said the labor market remains strong and initial claims are “very, very low.” With hiring growth slowing, some have argued that if layoffs were to increase, unemployment would rise as well fairly quickly. “That is something we’re watching, but we’re not seeing,” Powell said at a press conference after the US central bank left interest rates unchanged at a two-decades high.
I think that the Fed will hold off raising rates for at least one more meeting.
No clue as to what this all means.
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