PiCK
US Initial Jobless Claims Hit 200,000, Topping Forecast
Summary
- The U.S. Department of Labor said U.S. initial jobless claims totaled 200,000 last week, 6,000 above forecasts.
- Last week's initial jobless claims were 9,000 higher than the prior week's revised figure, breaking a run in which claims had stayed below 200,000 since mid-September.
- An increase in initial jobless claims can be interpreted as a gauge that the overheated U.S. labor market is cooling.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
U.S. initial jobless claims came in above market expectations last week.
The Labor Department said on November 12 that initial jobless claims totaled 200,000 last week. That was 6,000 higher than economists' forecast of 194,000.
The figure was also up 9,000 from the prior week's revised 191,000. U.S. initial jobless claims had generally remained below 200,000 since mid-September.
Continuing claims, which measure the number of people receiving benefits for two consecutive weeks, came to 1.697 million. That was 20,000 below the prior week's revised 1.717 million. It was also 13,000 lower than the market forecast of 1.71 million.
Initial jobless claims are a gauge of overheating in the U.S. labor market. An increase in claims can be interpreted as a sign that the overheated labor market is cooling.
JOON HYOUNG LEE
gilson@bloomingbit.ioCrypto Journalist based in Seoul