U.S. Initial Jobless Claims: 236,000...Lower Than Market Expectations

The number of new jobless claims in the United States last week was significantly lower than market expectations.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 26th (local time) that the number of initial jobless claims for last week was recorded at 236,000. This figure is 8,000 claims below expert projections (244,000). Compared to the previous week’s revised figure (246,000), it is down by 10,000 claims.

The number of continuing jobless claims—people receiving unemployment benefits for two consecutive weeks—stood at 1,974,000. This exceeds the previous week’s revised figure (1,937,000) and the market expectation (1,950,000) by 37,000 and 24,000, respectively.

Initial jobless claims serve as an indicator to gauge the overheating status of the U.S. labor market. When the number of jobless claims increases, it may signal that an overheated labor market is cooling down.

Experts are closely monitoring jobless claims and other employment indicators in order to assess the effects of federal government restructuring under U.S. President Donald Trump and the impact of tariff hikes on corporate decision-making.