New unemployment claims improved more than expected last week, further reflecting a tight labor market and relatively low levels of firings and layoffs. [snip]
Initial jobless claims, week ended March 12: 214,000 vs. 220,000 expected, 227,000 during prior week
Continuing claims, week ended March 5: 1.419 million vs. 1.480 million expected, 1.494 million during prior week
Jobless claims came in below 250,000 for a seventh consecutive week and hovered around pre-pandemic levels. And at 214,000, initial claims were at their lowest level of 2022.
Continuing claims, which track the total number of individuals claiming benefits across regular state programs, have held well below levels from even before the pandemic, coming in under 1.5 million for four consecutive weeks now. Throughout 2019, continuing claims averaged around 1.7 million per week.
The labor market has remained a bright spot in the U.S. economy, especially as a brief hit from the Omicron variant earlier this year unwound further in the most recent economic data.
Taken together, the weekly jobless claims data, monthly jobs reports and other surveys have shown an economy with near-record levels of job openings and a labor force participation rate that has steadily begun to creep back toward pre-virus standards.
The Fed just raised the Federal funds interest rate by 0.25% yesterday, the first of several rate increases expected over the next year. The Fed's action is an attempt to blunt rising inflation, which is rising worldwide, mostly caused by pent-up consumer demand chasing supply- chain- limited goods, volatility in energy markets, and good old fashioned corporate profiteering.
