U.S. initial jobless claims at 199,000, far below expectations

Bloomingbit Newsroom

Summary

The U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims last week totaled 199,000, 20,000 below economists’ forecast of 219,000.
Continuing claims came in at 1.866 million, down 47,000 from the prior week’s revised 1.913 million.
Economists are monitoring employment indicators such as jobless claims to assess the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies.

U.S. initial jobless claims last week came in well below market expectations.

The U.S. Department of Labor said on the 31st (local time) that initial claims totaled 199,000 last week. That is 20,000 below economists’ forecast of 219,000. It is also 16,000 fewer than the prior week’s revised figure of 215,000.

Continuing claims—filed by those who have collected unemployment benefits for two consecutive weeks—were 1.866 million. That is 47,000 fewer than the prior week’s revised 1.913 million.

Initial jobless claims are a gauge of overheating in the U.S. labor market. A rise in claims can be interpreted as a sign that an overheated labor market is cooling.

Economists are watching employment indicators such as jobless claims to assess how U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies are affecting corporate decision-making.