ZCZC
BCN-24
US-LABOR-JOBLESS-CLAIMS
U.S. jobless claims drop last week
WASHINGTON, July 12, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – The number of initial jobless
claims in the United States dropped last week to the lowest level since
April, the U.S. Labor Department said in a report on Thursday.
The number of Americans filing for state unemployment benefits decreased by
13,000 to 209,000 in the week ending Saturday from the previous week’s
revised level of 222,000, according to the department’s report.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, a measure of labor market
trends by ironing out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 3,250 to 219,250.
Meanwhile, the previous week’s number was revised up by 250 to 222,500, the
report showed.
As an important leading indicator of the U.S. unemployment status, a lower
reading of jobless claims indicates lower overall layoffs. The reading of
jobless claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, signaling a tight labor
market in the United States.
For a bigger picture of the U.S. labor market, American employers added
224,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.7 percent, the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1233