JOBS: “The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits rose last week, though overall numbers remain consistent with steady job gains.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 244,000 in the week ended June 24, the Labor Department said Thursday [6-29-17]. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast 241,000 new claims.
‘Nothing in these numbers suggests that the labor market is slackening,’ said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, in a note to clients.
Estimates of jobless claims can be volatile from week to week, but generally have hovered near four-decade lows in recent months, suggesting that employers are holding on to workers.”
-Sarah Chaney, “U.S. Jobless Claims Rose Last Week,” The Wall Street Journal online, June 29, 2017 10:10am