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US weekly jobless claims at two-month high; trade deficit widens in February
Reuters
US weekly jobless claims at two-month high; trade deficit widens in February
Lucia Mutikani
Updated Thu, Apr 4, 2024, 10:29 AM EDT• 4 min read
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased to a two-month high last week amid a gradual easing in labor market conditions.
The weekly claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showed fewer people remaining on jobless rolls towards the end of March, suggesting that laid-off workers continued to find work, though not as easily as two years ago. ... "The labor market remains very strong," said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week ended March 30, the report showed. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 214,000 claims in the latest week. Claims had bounced around between 210,000 and 212,000 for much of March.
Some economists attributed the larger-than-expected rise in claims to an early Easter this year, which could have thrown off the model that the government uses to strip seasonal fluctuations from the data.
{snip}
US weekly jobless claims at two-month high; trade deficit widens in February
Lucia Mutikani
Updated Thu, Apr 4, 2024, 10:29 AM EDT• 4 min read
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased to a two-month high last week amid a gradual easing in labor market conditions.
The weekly claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showed fewer people remaining on jobless rolls towards the end of March, suggesting that laid-off workers continued to find work, though not as easily as two years ago. ... "The labor market remains very strong," said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week ended March 30, the report showed. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 214,000 claims in the latest week. Claims had bounced around between 210,000 and 212,000 for much of March.
Some economists attributed the larger-than-expected rise in claims to an early Easter this year, which could have thrown off the model that the government uses to strip seasonal fluctuations from the data.
{snip}
