Announced this morning, Initial Jobless Claims were 218,000 for the week ending February 3rd, slightly less than expected and 9,000 less than the revised figure from the previous week. In addition, Continuing Claims were 1,871,000 for the week ending January 27th, also slightly less than expected and 23,000 less than the previous week’s revised figure.
Overall, initial and continuing claims were slightly less than expected and less than the previous week. These real-time figures have noted resilience in the labor market for many weeks. Meanwhile, a few companies have announced layoffs in their recent earnings reports, such as United Parcel Service and even Microsoft. However, these amounts have not yet appeared in the initial and continuing claims data, suggesting individuals are able to find work when they need to. As long as consumers remain employed, they tend to continue spending in the economy, giving the Federal Reserve time to be patient with adjusting their policy. How these labor market dynamics unfold will continue to be key for the direction of Federal Reserve policy and the markets in the months ahead.
In all, the yield on the 10-year US treasury ticks higher following the report and equity futures are mixed as we head into the market open.
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