Jobless Claims Move Lower

- Initial Jobless Claims for last week fell to 302K versus 315K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims fell to 2448K versus 2450K prior.

BOTTOM LINE: First-time claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week to the lowest in more than two month, pointing to a resilient US job market, Bloomberg reported. The four-week moving average of claims fell to 313,500 versus 316,250 the prior week. The unemployment rate among those eligible to collect benefits, which tracks the US unemployment rate, held steady at 1.9%. According to Michael Moskow, the economy needs to create 100,000 jobs a month to keep the unemployment rate steady. Tomorrow’s jobs monthly jobs report is expected to show 120,000 new jobs created. I continue to believe the job market will remain healthy over the intermediate-term without generating substantial unit labor costs increases.