Continuing Unemployment Benefit Claims Exceed Expectations at 1.892 Million
Last week, the number of new unemployment benefit claims in the United States slightly missed market expectations, indicating that the labor market continues to show a solid recovery.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor on the 20th (local time), the number of new unemployment benefit claims for the week of March 9-15 was 223,000. This is 2,000 more than the revised figure for the previous week (221,000), but still at a low level, falling 1,000 short of experts' forecast (224,000).
The number of continuing unemployment benefit claims, which counts those claiming benefits for at least two weeks, was recorded at 1,892,000 for the week of March 2-8. This exceeded the revised figure for the previous week (1,859,000) and market expectations (1,890,000) by 33,000 and 2,000 respectively.
The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) is monitoring employment indicators alongside inflation to achieve its dual mandate of price stability and full employment. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regular meeting held the previous day that "both layoffs and hires are low," indicating that the labor market is balanced.
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