Numbers: Initial unemployment allowance claims fell from 28,000 to 187,000 in the week ending March 19th, according to the US Department of Labor.
This is the lowest level since September 1969.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a total of 210,000 claims.
Important details: The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits has decreased by 67,000 to 1.35 million. These so-called continuous claims are at the lowest level since the 1970s.
Big picture: Companies are not dismissing workers due to a shortage of workers.
Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the labor market was “very tight” and noted that wages have long been rising at the fastest pace. Layoffs are expected to remain low for now. The looming Fed rate hike can cause some pain in the labor market.
Ian Shepherdson, Chief Economist at Pantheon Macroenomics, said the reduction in claims has completed the reversal of spikes caused by the Omicron variant.
Future outlook: “At this point, most unemployed claims are due to normal friction in the labor market, and recently there have been occasional outages in manufacturing due to supply shortages. Claims settle at a pace of around 200,000. I’m expecting it, “said Contingent Macro’s economic team.
Market reaction: US stocks DJIA, + 0.52% SPX, + 0.59% were scheduled to open at highs on Thursday. The yield on the 10-year government bond TMUBM USD10Y rose from 2.369% to 2.373%.