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
About the Author
Andrew is a seasoned trader and commentator of global financial markets. He worked for several London-based banks trading cash and derivatives before moving to the U.S. to attend graduate school. Andrew re-joins Interactive Brokers following a two-year stretch at a major Wall Street broker-dealer as their Chief Economic Strategist. His coverage of stocks, options, futures, forex and bonds regularly surfaces in global media, and over the last several years Andrew has made many TV appearances on Bloomberg, BBC, CNBC and BNN and Yahoo Finance.