Job Market Still Healthy

- Initial Jobless Claims for last week were 299K versus estimates of 320K and 325K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims fell to 2428K versus estimates of 2450K and 2431K prior.

BOTTOM LINE: First-time claims for state unemployment benefits in the US fell more than expected last week, reflecting a firm labor market and distortions to government figures caused by the holidays, Bloomberg said. The four-week moving-average of claims declined to 314,750, the lowest since Nov. 11. The unemployment rate among those eligible for jobless benefits, which tracks the US unemployment rate, remained steady at 1.9%. I continue to believe the job market will remain healthy over the intermediate-term without generating substantial unit labor cost increases.