U.S. Jobless Claims Rise More Than Expected To 229,000
March 14 2019 - 5:09AM
RTTF2
First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by
more than expected in the week ended March 9th, according to a
report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 229,000, an
increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of
223,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge up to
225,000.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week
moving average fell to 223,750, a decrease of 2,500 from the
previous week's unrevised average of 226,250.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving
ongoing unemployment assistance, climbed by 18,000 to 1.776 million
in the week ended March 2nd.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims still dipped
to 1,766,250, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised
average of 1,767,250.
Last Friday, the Labor Department released a separate report
showing U.S. job growth nearly ground to a halt in the month of
February.
The report said non-farm payroll employment edged up by 20,000
jobs in February after jumping by an upwardly revised 311,000 jobs
in January.
Economists had expected employment to increase by about 180,000
jobs compared to the spike of 304,000 jobs originally reported for
the previous month.
Despite the much weaker than expected job growth, the
unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent in February from 4.0
percent in January. The unemployment rate had been expected to dip
to 3.9 percent.
Euro vs AUD (FX:EURAUD)
Forex Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Euro vs AUD (FX:EURAUD)
Forex Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024