The US labor market has never been so solid in 44 years: it will be the Trump effect, but in the week ending Saturday February 25, jobless claims are slipped to the lowest level since 1973. To be precise, they fell by 19.000 units to 223.000, against 242.000 the previous week (revised downwards from 244.000 in the first estimate).
As reported by the Labor Department, the index is even better than forecasts: analysts were expecting a figure of 245.000 units. The subsidies, however, are attested below 300 for the past 104 consecutive weeks: another broken record, which had stood in this case since 1970, i.e. for 47 years.
The average of the four weeks, more reliable as it is not subject to market fluctuations, instead dropped by 6.250 units to 234.250. The total number of workers receiving unemployment benefits for more than a week - for the week ending February 18, the latest for which data is available - rose by 3.000 to 2,07 million.
