The number of workers who applied for the first time to obtain i unemployment benefits in the United States it fell last week to its lowest in more than forty years, in line with recent improvements in the US job market.
Initial jobless claims fell by 10 to 7.000 in the week ended Oct. 255.000, the lowest since November 1973, according to the Labor Department. 32nd week with a figure below 300.000, an important threshold signaling the good state of employment.
Analysts were expecting a figure of 270.000 units, after 262.000 units the previous week (data revised down by 1.000 units from the first estimate). The four-week average, more reliable as it is not subject to market fluctuations, fell by 2.250 units to 265.000, the minimum since December 1973.
The total number of workers receiving unemployment benefits for more than a week – for the week ending October 3, the last for which data is available – fell by 50.000 to 2,158 million, the minimum since November 2000.
However, the other indicators of the US economy continue to disappoint, which therefore appear to be further stave off the Fed's interest rate intervention. The US economy is in fact continuing to expand, but "in a modest way" between September and the beginning of October, according to what emerges from the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's six-weekly health report.
The Fed, in particular, stressed that manufacturing output was "generally weak" also due to the strong dollar while signs of wage growth were "sporadic". The data on consumption (which contributed to Walmart's stock market knockout) and on GDP were also highly disappointing.
