The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance reached 215,000. This is the lowest number since January 1, and less than Wall Street estimates.
Dow Jones was surveying economists looking to see first-time filings for week ending February 26, at 225,000
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also released a separate report. nonfarm productivity rose 6.6%The 4.3% estimate was slightly higher than what actually happened in the quarter. However, the unit labor cost rose by 0.9% which is well above the 0.3% expected.
You can find more information here jobless claimsThe total for last week was down 18,000 from the previous weeks and is the lowest recorded since Jan. 1.
Continued claims rose to 1.48million, a little more than the headline numbers. The weekly moving average of the past four weeks, which smooths out fluctuations, dropped to 1.54million, its lowest level since April 4, 1971.
A further drop in the number of recipients of benefits for all programs was seen at 1.97 million. This is a decrease of 62.625.
This is one day after the BLS closely monitored nonfarm payrolls reports. Wall Street is looking for a gain of 440,000 in February, following up the much stronger-than-expected 467,000 total in January.
Nearly 11 million jobs are available for companies, despite the fact that there is a severe shortage of workers. About 4.4 million jobs are available more than the unemployed looking for work.
In the present environment, wage inflation has been high. According to Labor Department data, the average hourly earning rose 5.7% in January. That’s a far greater level than in pre-pandemic times.
In the third quarter of 2021, unit labor costs increased at an even slower rate than before. However, this was due in part to an increase in productivity. The 6.6% productivity increase offset the 7.5% hourly wage rise. Unit labor costs increased 3.6% in the entire year, compared to the 4.3% increase for 2020.
Federal Reserve policymakers plan to address inflation issues with expected increases in rates.
Fed Chairman Jerome PowellThis Wednesday called the labor market “extremely tight”He stated that he expected the first rate increase to be at the central bankās policymaking meeting this month.
