Initial Weekly Claims
The latest granular data shows that the labor market continued to improve, with four notable component parts.
First, the actual reading of claims of 312,000 remained at a low level consistent with the gradual improvement in the labor market. Second, that maintains downside pressure on the four-week moving average for the series, which at 311,750 (-4k) also remains near a seven-year low. Third, for the prior week’s data, the report showed a drop in the continuing level of claims to 2.56-million, which is once again the lowest level since 2007.
Finally, the insured rate among claimants once again eased to 1.9%. That’s important because it has a strong track record of mapping the national rate of unemployment. And with the Labor Department stating a clean report (no states estimated the latest data) investors are likely to remain comforted by the latest piece of labor market data.
Chart: Further fall in insured rate amongst claimants