Contact Your Financial Adviser Money Making MC
20 April 2017
More people sought U.S. unemployment benefits last week, yet total
applications remained at a historically low level that suggests workers are
enjoying solid job security.
THE NUMBERS: Weekly applications for
unemployment benefits rose 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 244,000, the Labor
Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell
to 243,000. The Total Investment &
Insurance Solutions
The number of Americans seeking benefits
dropped 49,000 to 1.98 million, the fewest since April 2000. That figure has
declined 7.7 percent in the past year.
THE TAKEAWAY: Applications are a proxy for
layoffs. They have been below the 300,000 benchmark for 111 weeks. That's the
longest such streak since 1970.
The data adds to evidence that the job market
is healthy, even as the economy is growing at a sluggish pace. Employers added
an average of about 175,000 jobs a month from January through March. The
unemployment rate has fallen to 4.5 percent, the lowest in nearly a decade.
KEY DRIVERS: Many economists forecast that
growth was just 1 percent or lower at an annual pace in the first three months
of the year. Consumers appear to have pulled back on spending after healthy
increases in last year's fourth quarter.
Yet growth should rebound in the April-June
quarter, analysts say. Employers are confident about future demand and are
posting open jobs. Many are struggling to find the qualified workers they need,
according to a report from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
Many companies say they have had to raise pay
to attract new employees, the Fed's "Beige Book" survey found.The Total Investment & Insurance
Solutions
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