最新失业报告数据
The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in the first week of February fell by 9,000 to 218,000 and indicated that layoffs remain extremely low.
Initial jobless claims declined from a three-month high of 227,000 in the prior week.
New jobless claims are starting to become more normal again after the usual fluctuations during the holiday season stretching from Thanksgiving until Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
What they show is a hot labor market that has cooled slightly but remains remarkably strong.
Tom Barkin, president of the Richmond Federal Reserve, said what he is hearing from business contacts is “not as much hiring, but not as much firing,” in an interview on Bloomberg News.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast new claims to total 220,000 in the seven days ending Feb. 3, based on seasonally adjusted figures.
Big picture: Businesses are hiring at a slower pace compared to last year, but they have been reluctant to lay off workers because of a tight labor market and steadily growing economy.
The labor market could get a boost later in the year if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates as widely expected.
Key details: New jobless claims fell in 42 of the 53 states and territories that report these figures to the federal government.