The good news from the American labor market heralds a positive session for Wall Street. The number of US workers that requested last week for the first time the unemployment benefit fell by 10 units, to 322 thousand. Analysts had instead estimated an increase to 350 units. The previous week's figure was revised up from 340.000 to 342.000 units.
Data leading into positive territory futures on the American Stock Exchange: the contract on the Nasdaq rises by 12 points (+0,45%) while that on the S&P500 rises by 4,6 points (+0,30%).
The US Labor Department also said that, on average over the four weeks, initial jobless claims fell by 2.750 to 346.750, the lowest level in five years. The figure thus remains below 400 units, a threshold which according to analysts signals a stalemate.
The total number of workers who received unemployment benefits for more than a week – relating to the week ending March 2, the last for which data is available – fell by 89 to 3.024. The unemployment rate for uninsured workers remained unchanged at 2,4%.
