The number of Americans who filed new unemployment claims decreased to 214,000 in the week ending March 12, the lowest level since the beginning of 2022, the Department of Labor announced Thursday.
The Labor Department figure showed a decrease of 15,000 compared to the week ending March 5, when new claims numbered just 227,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The week’s claims were below predictions of economists surveyed by Dow Jones, who estimated that new claims reported Thursday would total 220,000.
Initial jobless claims at 214k vs. 220k est. & 229k in prior week; continuing claims down to 1.42M vs. 1.48M est. & 1.49M in prior week … greatest increases in MI (+2.1k), CA (+2k), & OH (+1.5k); greatest decreases in NY (-16k), NJ (-1.2k), & MA (-1.1k) pic.twitter.com/0YPvouVRxc
— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) March 17, 2022
Thursday’s report comes on the heels of a strong jobs report for February, with the Labor Department announcing the addition of 678,000 jobs in the U.S. (RELATED: Federal Reserve Hikes Interest Rates For First Time In Three Years)
Thursday’s decline in initial filings for unemployment was the lowest since January 1, highlighting strong demand for workers and a tightening labor market.
Meanwhile, American consumer spending slowed in February, growing only 0.3% compared to January’s 4.9% as inflation continues to soar throughout the country. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), reached another four-decade high in February, growing 7.9% on a year-over-year basis.
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