US initial jobless claims at 202,000, below expectations

The number of initial jobless claims in the United States last week came in below market expectations.

The US Department of Labor said on the 2nd (local time) that initial jobless claims totaled 202,000 last week. The figure was 10,000 below economists’ forecast of 212,000. It was also 9,000 fewer than the prior week’s revised reading of 211,000.

Continuing claims, which track those who have filed for benefits for two consecutive weeks, totaled 1.841 million. That was 25,000 above the prior week’s revised 1.816 million. It was also 1,000 higher than the market forecast of 1.84 million.

Initial jobless claims are a gauge of how overheated the US labor market is. A rise in claims can be interpreted as a sign that an overheated labor market is cooling.

Economists are closely watching employment indicators such as jobless claims to assess the impact of aggressive tariff policies by US President Donald Trump on corporate decision-making.