The U.S. Department of Labor has released its reading on weekly jobless claims. People who applied for jobless benefits decreased by 14,000 to 298,000. This was a decline from the previous level of 312,000, which had been revised from the preliminary report of 311,000. The number of weekly claims beat the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 300,000.
The four-week running average increased by some 4,750 to 300,750 this week.
Continuing jobless claims fell 49,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.5 million. These continuing claims are reported with a one-week lag. We would point out that this is the lowest level that continuing jobless claims has hit since June 2007, long before the recession began.
As we have seen in most reports of late, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that there were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.
Stocks have remained firm after the report. S&P 500 futures were up three points and DJIA futures were up about 30 points. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was 2.43% on last look.
READ ALSO: States With the Most Big Spenders
Cash Back Credit Cards Have Never Been This Good
Credit card companies are at war, handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers. A good cash back card can be worth thousands of dollars a year in free money, not to mention other perks like travel, insurance, and access to fancy lounges. See our top picks for the best credit cards today. You won’t want to miss some of these offers.
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
