Resilient US Employment Keeps Traders Guessing on FED Rate Decision

It seems that despite the Federal Reserve’s endeavors to moderate economic expansion through elevated interest rates, the labor market has sustained its resilience, as shown in today’s figures. As per the Labor Department’s report today, the count of citizens who are claiming support from the government dropped by 8K to 212K during last. This implies that the labor market remains sturdy notwithstanding the Fed’s efforts to curb economic activity.

US Unemployment Claims

Looking at the breakdown of the weekly US initial and continuing unemployment claims statistics: Initial jobless claims came in at 212,000, slightly below the expected 220,000. The prior week’s initial jobless claims were revised up from 218,000 to 220,000. The 4-week moving average of initial claims is 218,500, compared to 212,750 in the previous week. Continuing claims stood at 1.895 million, slightly higher than the estimated 1.880 million.

The previous week’s continuing claims were revised from 1.871 million to 1.865 million. The 4-week moving average of continuing claims increased to 1.871 million from 1.848 million. Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Illinois, and Florida saw the highest increases in initial claims, while Oregon, California, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania had the most significant decreases. Overall, the initial jobless claims were slightly lower than expected, while continuing claims were slightly higher.