Unemployment Claims Plunge as Businesses Capitulate to GrowthJohn Carney 7 Sep 2023
Fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that employers are clinging to workers amid an economy that appears to be growing much faster than expected.
The Department of Labor said that new claims for jobless benefits rose by just 216,000 last week, the lowest level of claims since February. This is a drop of 13,000 claims from the slightly revised level of the prior week.
Economists had expected claims to climb from the preliminary estimate of 228,000 in the prior week to 238,000. The range of forecasts began at a low of 230,000 and topped out at 240,000, so the Department of Labor’s estimate is below even that of the most bullish analysts.
Claims can be volatile week to week so many economists look to the four-week moving average of claims for a signal about the strength of the labor market. This fell to 229,500 from 237,750 in the prior week.
more
https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2023/09/07/overheating-unemployment-claims-plunge-as-businesses-capitulate-to-growth/