So we have a new unemployment numbers, and it ain't pretty, though the Memorial Day weekend might have f%$#ed with the data.
Initial claims were up 8,000 to 247,000, while the less volatile 4-week moving average increased to 235,000, with continuing claims falling slightly to 1.9 million.
Applications for US unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week to the highest since October, adding to signs that the job market is cooling.
Initial claims increased by 8,000 to 247,000 in the week ended May 31, a period that included Memorial Day. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 235,000 applications.
Weekly claims tend to be volatile and fluctuate even more around holidays. However, recent data and surveys pointed to a slowdown in economic activity and sustained gains in benefit filings in the coming weeks could be a sign that layoffs are on the rise.
The four-week moving average of new applications, a metric that helps smooth out volatility, rose to 235,000, also the highest since October.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, fell slightly to 1.9 million in the previous week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. They remain elevated compared with last year, a sign it is taking longer for out-of-work people to find a job.
We also had news on imports, with what appears to be an end to frantic attempts to stock up imports, likely a sort of TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) trade.
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Separate data Thursday showed that the US trade deficit narrowed in April by the most on record on the largest-ever plunge in imports, illustrating an abrupt end to the massive front-loading of goods by some companies ahead of higher tariffs.
We should be getting the monthly jobs report tomorrow.
Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night.
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