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US initial jobless claims rise more than expected

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Thursday 14 Mar 2019

US initial jobless claims rise more than expected

(Sharecast News) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, according to figures from the Labor Department.
US initial jobless claims increased by 6,000 from the previous week to 229,000, versus expectations for a level of 225,000.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average came in at 223,750, down 2,500 from the previous week's 226,250.

The four-week average is considered more reliable as it smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly figures, giving a more accurate picture of the health of the labour market.

Continuing claims - i.e. the number of people already collecting unemployment benefits - rose to 1.776 million, up 18,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised up by 3,000 to 1.758m. Analysts had expected a level of 1.775m.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "Slightly unfriendly seasonals explain this modest rise in claims, which should reverse next week.

"The trend in claims has nudged higher as growth has slowed, thanks mostly to the fading of the tax cuts and the hit to manufacturing from China's slowdown and the trade war. Right now the trend probably is about 225k, but we expect it to creep higher until mid-spring, by which point we think manufacturing will be close to bottoming and the transition to a slower but sustainable post tax-cut rate of growth of consumers' spending is complete.

"This is not the end-of-the-cycle surge in claims, which is more likely to come next year or even as late as 2021."



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