|
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 9,000
to a seasonally adjusted 220,000 for the week ended Aug. 10, the
Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was
revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously
reported.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would rise
214,000 in the latest week. The Labor Department said there were
no states estimated last week.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a
better measure of labor market trends as it irons out
week-to-week volatility, edged up 1,000 to 213,750 last week.
There are still no signs that a bitter trade war between the
United States and China, which has contributed to an inversion
of the U.S. Treasury yield curve, was spilling over to the labor
market. The U.S. 2-year Treasury note yield rose above the
10-year bond yield on Wednesday for the first time since June
2007.
An inverted U.S. yield curve is widely viewed as a classic
recession signal. Concerns over the impact of the trade tensions
between Washington and Beijing on the U.S. economic expansion,
the longest on record, prompted the Federal Reserve to cut
interest rates last month for the first time since 2008.
Financial markets have fully priced in another rate cut at the
U.S. central bank's Sept. 17-18 policy meeting.
While hiring has slowed, the pace of job gains remains well
above the roughly 100,000 needed per month to keep up with
growth in the working-age population.
Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 39,000
to 1.73 million for the week ended Aug. 3. The four-week moving
average of the so-called continuing claims rose 9,250 to 1.70
million.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani Editing by Paul Simao)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
