Continuing Unemployment Claims Reach 1.87 Million,
Below Market Expectations
Last week, the number of new unemployment insurance claims in the United States came in below market expectations.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor on the 13th (local time), the number of new unemployment insurance claims for the week of March 2-8 recorded 220,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the revised figure of 222,000 for the previous week. This is 6,000 fewer than the expert forecast of 226,000.
The number of continuing unemployment insurance claims, which are claims filed for at least two weeks, was recorded at 1.87 million for the week of February 23 to March 1. This was 27,000 and 30,000 below the revised figure of 1.897 million and the market forecast of 1.9 million, respectively.
Experts are closely monitoring employment indicators to understand the impact of President Donald Trump's federal government restructuring and tariff increases on corporate business activities.
Eliza Winger, an economist at Bloomberg Economics, stated, "The new unemployment insurance claims indicator suggests that the cost-cutting by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has so far had little impact on the nationwide job market," adding, "The planned large-scale layoffs by the Trump administration are likely to cause a sharp increase in unemployment insurance claims among federal employees, but the timing of such layoffs remains uncertain."
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