Surprising the market again, the US DOL announced another decline in Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending November 22. They dropped to 216,000, a decline of 6,000 from the prior week’s revised level. This decline is especially notable as the market had expected claims to rise to 225,000. The data, usually released on Thursdays, was released a day early this week.
Continuing Claims also received a strong boost index wise as they fell. The four-week moving average fell by 1,000, to 223,750. This three-week average reduces volatility from the state-by-state willies with weekly claims and gives a better look at overall labor market trends.
Instead of declining, as expected, the DOL reported a big jump in seasonally adjusted insured unemployment. For the week ending November 15, the advance number was 1,960,000, an increase of 7,000 from the prior week’s revised figure. This is a good statistic to track as it counts the total number of people collecting unemployment benefits and serves as a proxy for overall economic health.
“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 15 was 1,960,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week’s revised level,” – US Department of Labor (DOL)
The dip in new jobless claims is another sign of a labor market stabilization as employers persistently add workers even in the face of a potential recession. Labor analysts are optimistic about this trend, seeing it as an indicator of employer confidence in our economic stability.
In the Capital markets, USD US Dollar Index Index gained modest ground. It recently hit 99.83 early in the American trading session on Wednesday. This uptick in the dollar may reflect investor sentiment surrounding the labor market data and its implications for future economic policy.