The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 19th (local time) that the number of new unemployment benefit claims last week (September 8?14) decreased by 12,000 to 219,000 compared to the previous week.
This is the lowest figure in four months since the week of May 12?18 (216,000 claims). It also fell short of the expert forecast of 229,000 claims compiled by Dow Jones.
The number of continuing unemployment benefit claims, for those who have applied for benefits for more than two weeks, was 1,829,000 in the week of September 1?7, down by 14,000 from the previous week. This is the lowest figure in three months since the week of June 2?8 (1,821,000 claims).
Jerome Powell, Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), cited signs of cooling in the labor market as one of the reasons for lowering interest rates by 0.5 percentage points the day before. The rate cut aims to maintain strength in the labor market.
Bloomberg News reported, "The number of unemployment benefit claims has fallen to the lowest level since May, indicating that despite the employment downturn, the job market remains healthy."
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