The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time fell by 8,000 to 470,000 for the week ending January 23rd according to the latest information from the US Labor Department. The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits as of the week ending January 16th fell by 57,000 to 4.6 million.
Yesterday, a statement from the Federal Reserve claimed that “the deterioration in the labor market is abating”. The Fed noted that businesses are laying off fewer workers and in some cases, are even starting to hire additional staff, prompting the Fed to renew its pledge to keep interest rates low to ensure retail lending rates remain affordable.
“We do expect the labor market to continue to improve going forward,†Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. “The trend in claims has been on a consistent downtrend and we do expect that to continue.â€
Source: Bloomberg
