- Continuing Claims fell to 2492K versus estimates of 2505K and 2517K prior.
BOTTOM LINE: More US workers filed first-time claims for state unemployment benefits last week, while the number of people on jobless rolls remained at a level that indicates strength in the job market, Bloomberg reported. The four week moving-average of jobless claims fell to 315,750 from 317,250 the prior week. Construction and other housing-related businesses and automakers are reducing staff, while many other employers are keeping workers and adding new ones to help meet demand. The unemployment rate among those eligible for benefits held steady at 1.9%. In the most recent consumer confidence report, the percentage of Americans who said jobs are plentiful rose to the highest level since August 2001. I continue to believe the labor market will remain healthy over the intermediate-term as auto production rises and increased hiring in the healthcare, technology and financial sectors offsets housing related job cuts. Tomorrow’s non-farm payrolls will probably come in just slightly below estimates of 133,000. I suspect investors will be pleased with the number on Monday after the three-day weekend.
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