The reading for the most recent weekly jobless claims report has surfaced, and it came in just below estimates. Currently, jobless claims are holding at record lows, indicating a lack of layoffs and ongoing strength for the nation’s labor market.
Initial claims fell 9,000 in the week of April 2 to a slightly lower than expected 267,000. Bloomberg had a consensus estimate that called for 272,000.
The four-week average, which increased 3,500 to 266,750, is trending only slightly higher compared to three weeks of 259,000 levels earlier in March.
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Continuing claims, which are reported with a one-week lag, rose 19,000 to 2.191 million, and the four-week average is down only slightly to 2.189 million. This compares with the month-ago reading, showing a sizable decrease of nearly 40,000. The unemployment rate for insured workers remains very low at a 1.6%.
In the report there were no special factors, although it was noted that data for Louisiana, where the labor office has been having computer problems, was once again estimated. Labor is in short supply and employers are holding onto their workers tightly.
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