- Prior week 229K versus 227K previously reported
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Initial jobless claims (Feb 14): 206K vs 225K estimate (down 23K vs prior week revised 229K; prior revised up 2K from 227K)
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4-week avg initial claims: 219K (Down↓1K; prior week revised up 500 from 219.5K to 220K)
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Continuing claims (Feb 7): 1.869M vs 1.860M (up 17K vs prior week revised 1.852M; prior revised down10K from 1.862M)
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4-week avg continuing claims: 1.8453M (up 1K; prior week revised down 2.5K from 1.8467M to 1.8442M)
The initial jobs claims continue to show the employment situation remains steady. Yesterday the Fed said that the employment situation had indeed leveled. From the Fed minutes:
- “the vast majority” of committee participants judged that labor market conditions were showing signs of stabilization after earlier softening
- Downside risks to employment have diminished — most officials felt that the risk of a significant weakening in the jobs market had receded since prior meetings. The
- Risk balance shifted more toward inflation than jobs — officials pointed out that persistent inflation risks now loom larger relative to risks of job losses, which also underpinned the decision to hold rates rather than cut.
The “No Hire. No Fire” jobs situation is in play. The data may have also been impacted by the President’s holiday, but overall the trend is not rising. That is good news and indicative of the Fed commentary from the minutes.
This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.