The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the United States in the week to February 3 was 218,000, lower than the 220,000 expected and the previous figure of 224,000, marking the first decline in three weeks. In the week ended January 27, the number of people continuing to claim unemployment benefits dropped to 1.87 million.
Foreign media said that the decline in the number of initial jobless claims shows that employers are still retaining employees to a large extent. The U.S. labor market has been surprisingly strong in recent months, which has boosted consumer spending. However, recent layoff announcements from some well-known companies, including United Parcel Service Inc., and the technology industry, suggest that demand for labor may slow in the coming months.
Weekly jobless claims data are typically volatile. The four-week moving average, used to smooth out short-term fluctuations, rose to 212,300, the highest level since late December.
Initial jobless claims, which are not seasonally adjusted, fell by more than 310,000 to about 232,700. The decline is relatively widespread across states, with particularly significant declines in Oregon and Ohio.
Economist Eliza Winger said, "The initial claims data points to a relatively low layoff rate. The unadjusted data shows that apart from some weather-related disruptions, the recent trend in the number of applications is similar to last year. Still, in the near term, The number of unemployment claims is still likely to rise in the coming weeks amid news of a series of layoffs."
Last month, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive time. Powell and other officials have played down market expectations for a rate cut in March, saying the policy-setting committee wants to see more data to boost confidence that inflation is continuing to move steadily toward its 2% target.
On Thursday, Richmond Fed President Barkin reiterated that policymakers still have plenty of time to be patient as they consider the timing of a rate cut, citing a strong labor market and continued slowing inflation.
Barkin, a voting member of the Fed this year, said they would wait for "a few more months" of inflation data and that he would "very much like to see the slowdown in inflation continue and expand." He noted that commodity prices have played a huge role in the slowdown in inflation.
Article forwarded from: Golden Ten Data
