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WASHINGTON – The number of Americans filing unemployment benefit claims remained unchanged last week, suggesting that the labor market remains strong despite the slowdown in economic activity.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits remained unchanged at 218,000 seasonally adjusted for the week ended June 1, the Department of Labor announced on June 6.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that the number of claims for compensation would remain unchanged at 215,000 last week. The Labor Department stated that no state had been estimated.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, as it avoids week-to-week volatility, declined from 2,500 to 215,000 last week.
Claims data does not affect the May employment report, which is due to be released on Friday. According to a study by Reuters from economists, non-farm jobs probably increased by 185,000 jobs in May, after rising 263,000 in April.
A job seeker fills out an application at the King Soopers grocery store table at an employment fair at the Denver Workforce Center in Denver, Colorado on February 15, 2017 (Rick Wilking / Reuters)The pace of employment growth is well above the estimated 100,000 jobs needed per month to keep pace with the growth of the working-age population. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at the lowest level in 50 years at 3.6%.
Strong labor market growth is supporting growth as there are signs that economic activity is slowing after temporary momentum due to export volatility and inventory build-up in the first quarter. Manufacturing output and home sales fell in April and consumer spending rose moderately.
The Federal Reserve of Atlanta predicts that gross domestic product will grow by 1.3% in the second quarter. The economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.1% in the quarter from January to March.
Thursday's claims report also indicated that the number of people receiving benefits after a first week of badistance increased from 20,000 to 1.68 million for the week ended May 25th. The four-week moving average of so-called continuing claims fell from $ 1,000 to $ 1.67 million.
Hispanic unemployment sets new historic low
Hispanic Americans are experiencing the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded, up 4.2% in April, with the economy creating 263,000 additional jobs and the overall unemployment rate falling to 3.6%, the lowest level since close 50 years old.
The report easily surpbaded expectations, with economists polled by Reuters predicting a non-farm payroll increase of 185,000 last month.
"What people see is that the agenda that the president [Donald] Trump ran and it's been two years since we've been delivering to all Americans, "Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News on May 3rd.
He called the new data "confirmation of what the president has said from the beginning".
"You let the Americans keep a larger share of their salary, you reduce personal and business taxes, you reduce federal red tape, you release American energy, you fight for the type of government." trade agreements that gives priority to US jobs and workers, that the US economy would rise, we are witnessing it and it is really inspiring, "he said.
The number of unemployed, however, has declined not only because of the growing payroll, but also because nearly half a million Americans have left the labor market this month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. .
Hispanics have performed well in the labor market in recent years, with an average unemployment rate of less than 4.8% over the last 24 months. The only other two-year period to be within a stone's throw of this figure was between 2006 and 2007, just before the Great Recession, when the average unemployment rate for Hispanics fell below 5.5%. .
The seasonally adjusted general unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 3.6%, its lowest level since December 1969.
Good news from today's day #JobsReport! Last month, 263,000 new jobs were created. The overall unemployment rate reached a historic low of 3.6%. And, the US economy grew by a record 3.2% in the first quarter. Thanks to @POTUS, the economy is stronger than ever.
– Sec. Wilbur Ross (@SecretaryRoss) May 3, 2019
"We can all agree that AMERICA is now No. 1. We are the envy of the world – and the best is yet to come! ", Said President Donald Trump on Twitter on May 3.
Trump has often attributed the growing economic momentum to Republican tax cuts in 2017, the ongoing deregulation agenda of his administration and his tough stance on international trade, particularly with respect to China.
Employment growth was strongest in the administrative and support services sector, where 53,000 jobs were created. The non-residential specialty contractor sector has created 22,000 jobs. The personal and family services and food services and drinking places sectors created 26,000 and 25,000 jobs, respectively.
The BLS also corrected previous data, claiming that the economy had created 16,000 additional jobs in February and March compared to previous ones. Average employment growth over the last 12 months has risen to 218,000, more than double the 100,000 needed to cope with the growth of the workforce.
Unemployment figures include only those who looked for a job in the previous four weeks. If we included those who had looked for a job in the previous 12 months, as well as those who had a part-time job but wanted a full-time job, the rate was 7.3%, unchanged compared to March.
Construction workers are seen on a construction site in New York City on March 8, 2019. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)Hiring remains strong, despite anecdotal evidence of labor shortages in the transportation, manufacturing and construction sectors, suggesting that there is still some available capacity on the labor market.
Overall, rising wages have kept workers in the labor market and reduced drop-out rates. Average hourly earnings increased six cents, or 0.2%, in April, after increasing the same way in March. This kept the annual salary increase at 3.2%. Workers work fewer hours in April. The average workweek increased from 34.5 hours to 34.4 hours.
The economy recorded annualized growth of 3.2% in the first quarter, driven by higher exports and inventories, which accelerated compared to the 2.2% pace recorded for the period from October to December .
The dollar plunged against a basket of currencies after the employment report, while US Treasury yields were slightly lower.
By Lucia Mutikani
Epoch Times reporter Petr Svab contributed to this article.
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