The number of Americans filing new jobless claims fell modestly last week, suggesting that April was another month of strong job growth.
Initial claims for state jobless benefits fell by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 184,000 in the week ending April 16. The previous week’s data was revised to show 1,000 more claims than initially reported.
Economists polled by Reuters estimated 180,000 claims for the latest week. For the week ending March 19, claims fell to 166,000, a more than 53-year low. The room for further declines is probably limited.
Subsidy applications, down from an all-time high of 6.1 million in early April 2020, will be closely watched to see if rising borrowing costs are dampening demand.
Unemployed lists, at their lowest level
The Labor Department report also showed jobless rolls shrank to their lowest level in 52 years in the first week of April, reinforcing tight labor market conditions.
At the end of February there were almost a record 11.3 million job openings. The unemployment rate stands at 3.6%, just a tenth of a percentage point above its pre-pandemic level.