The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 23rd (local time) that the number of new unemployment insurance claims for the week of March 12-18 decreased by 1,000 to 191,000 compared to the previous week. This decline was contrary to experts' expectations of a slight increase.
Despite concerns over a banking crisis heightened by the recent bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the labor market is still considered to be resilient. Unemployment insurance claims are typically one of the earliest warning signs indicating an impending economic recession.
The number of continuing unemployment insurance claims, which are filed by those claiming benefits for at least two consecutive weeks, rose by 14,000 to 1.69 million. Continuing claims are reported based on data from two weeks prior.
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