- increase: 62%
- decrease: 38%
New claims for jobless benefits dropped last week to their lowest level in four months, a positive sign for hiring that could bolster expectations the Federal Reserve will ease its monetary stimulus this year.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 334,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. It was the lowest reading since March and a steeper fall than analysts had expected.
Still, a four-week average of new claims, which smoothes out volatility, fell 5,250 from a week earlier.According to the story, July is a particularly difficult month to sort out, so we will put this number aside for the moment and wait for a) tomorrow's new jobs report; and, b) next month's initial claims, though I would think August would also be a tough month to forecast.
Whatever. Time to move on to other news.
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