U.S. initial jobless claims 224,000…matches market forecast

Last week, U.S. initial jobless claims matched market forecasts.

The U.S. Department of Labor said on the 18th (local time) that last week's initial jobless claims totaled 224,000. This figure matches experts' forecast (224,000). It is 13,000 fewer than the previous week's revised figure (237,000).

Continuing claims, those filing for unemployment benefits for two consecutive weeks, totaled 1,897,000. This is 67,000 more than the previous week's revised figure (1,830,000). Compared with the market forecast (1,930,000), it is 33,000 fewer.

Initial jobless claims are an indicator that can gauge whether the U.S. labor market is overheated. If jobless claims increase, it can be interpreted as meaning that an overheated labor market is cooling.

Experts are watching employment indicators such as jobless claims. This is to assess the impact of Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policies on corporate decision-making.