US claims suggest gradual job market cooling
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The news: New US jobless claims rose slightly to 232,000 last week, showing a steady cooling of the labour market that supports expectations of a 25 basis point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month.
The numbers: Applications rose 4,000 week-on-week, lower than the previous week’s 6,000 increase, data from the Labor Department showed. The four-week moving average fell to its lowest in a month.
Continuing claims – the number of people receiving claims after an initial week of aid – edged higher to 1.86 million in the week to 10 August, amid a potentially tougher jobs market for those seeking employment.
The context: The data uptick suggests the labour market is cooling under restrictive Federal Reserve policy, but not rapidly.
It also aligns with easing inflation pressures and a slowdown in US business activity as measured by the S&P Global's Composite PMI, which dipped to a four-month low of 54.1 in August.
The sources: US Department of Labor , Reuters , Bloomberg
