Job Market Remains Healthy, Inventories Still at Record Lows

- Initial Jobless Claims for last week fell to 310K versus estimates of 315K and 319K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims rose to 2492K versus estimates of 2483K and 2477K prior.
- Wholesale Inventories for July rose .8% versus estimates of a .6% increase and a .8% gain in June.

BOTTOM LINE: The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits for the first time fell to the lowest in more than a month, signaling the labor market remains healthy, Bloomberg reported. The four-week average of jobless claims fell to 315,250 versus 318,250 the prior week. The unemployment rate among those eligible for benefits, which tracks the US unemployment rate, held steady at 1.9%. Job cut announcements by US businesses fell 24% in August from year-ago levels, according to a recent report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. I continue to believe the labor market will remain healthy over the intermediate-term without generating substantial unit labor cost increases.

Inventories at US wholesalers increased twice as fast as sales in July, Bloomberg reported. Sales rose .4% versus a 1.2% gain the prior month. The inventory-to-sales ratio remained at an all-time low of 1.15 months. I continue to believe inventory rebuilding will add to economic growth as companies gain confidence in the durability of the current expansion.