US jobless claims drop to lowest level since April
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Applications for US unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly for the week ending 22 November, dropping to the lowest level since mid-April.
The numbers: Initial claims fell by 6,000 to 216,000, after the median forecast by a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 225,000 applications.
Continuing claims, a proxy data point for the number of people receiving benefits rose by 7,000 to 1.96 million people in the previous week.
The context: While a number of large companies have made job cut announcements in recent weeks, Wednesday’s figures released by the US Labor Department suggest that employers are largely retaining current employees and have pulled back on new hires.
The report, released one day early because of the US Thanksgiving public holiday on Thursday, reflected broader concerns that Americans are increasingly worried about the labour market. A measure of consumer confidence dropped the most in seven months in November, tied in part to weakened prospects of finding a job.
The US Federal Reserve lowered interest rates at its last two meetings, but policymakers are split on whether to pursue another cut at the upcoming December meeting.
Meanwhile, US mortgage applications to buy a home climbed in the week ending 21 November despite still-elevated borrowing costs. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of home-purchase applications jumped 7.6% to 181.6 in the period, while the contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rate ticked up to a more than one-month high of 6.4%.
The sources: Department of Labor, Mortgage Bankers Association
