US Jobless Claims stand at 357K.
Early expectations stood on a small slide from the initially reported 359K to 355K.
Last week’s figure was revised to the upside: from 359K to 363K. This isn’t a big change.
The amount of initial unemployment claims has been very steady recently – between 350K and 360K generally speaking.
According to some analysts, a figure under 400K implies an ongoing drop in the unemployment rate.
The result of a consistently improving job market is that some discouraged people return to seek a job. This may raise the unemployment rate, even if the actual workforce rises.
Earlier job related indicators were OK earlier in the week: ADP showed a gain of 209K jobs in the private sector, within expectations and a solid number in general.
US Manufacturing and also Non-Manufacturing PMIs both included a rising employment component. This implies a nice gain in Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls.
