Weekly jobless claims in the US hit 49-year low

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, reaching its lowest level in nearly 49 years and indicating a robust labor market situation.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits have slipped from 1,000 to 204,000 for the week ending September 8, the lowest level since December 1969, the Labor Ministry said Thursday. Data from the previous week have been revised to indicate that an additional 2,000 applications have been received.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 210,000 over the past week. Claim data covered Monday's Labor Day holiday. Claims tend to be volatile around holidays.

The Ministry of Labor said only Maine claims were estimated last week. The four-week moving average of initial claims, seen as a better measure of labor market trends, revealing weekly volatility, dropped from 2,000 last week to 208,000, the lowest level since December 1969.

The labor market is considered close or to full employment. It continues to strengthen, with non-farm payrolls increasing by 201,000 in August and annual wage growth recording its strongest growth in over nine years. Job openings peaked at 6.9 million in July.

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book report, released Wednesday, described the labor market as "tight across the country, with most districts reporting a widespread shortage."

Although some companies have anticipated layoffs or layoffs due to trade tensions between the United States and its major trading partners, they have been partially offset by increased hiring in the steel industry.

Economists, however, caution against widespread job losses if the Trump administration continues to impose tariffs on almost all Chinese imports. President Donald Trump last week threatened tariffs on $ 267 billion worth of Chinese goods in addition to a $ 200 billion list pending his decision.

Washington has already imposed tariffs of $ 50 billion on Chinese imports, provoking retaliation from Beijing. The United States has also adopted preferential tariffs with other trading partners, including the European Union, Canada and Mexico.

According to Thursday's report, the number of beneficiaries after a first week of assistance dropped from 15,000 to 1.70 million for the week ended September 1st, the lowest level since December 1973. The four-month moving average weeks from 8,250 to 1.71 million, the lowest level since November 1973.