Announced this morning, Initial Jobless Claims were 215,000 for the week ending May 18th, less than expected and 8,000 less than the revised figure from the previous week. In addition, Continuing Claims were 1,794,000 for the week ending May 11th, slightly more than expected and 8,000 more than the previous week’s revised figure.
Overall, initial claims were less than expected, and continuing claims were just slightly more than expected, indicating stability remains in the labor market. Even though claims had increased slightly in past weeks, suggesting some cooling, today’s lower-than-expected figure shows a slight improvement from that trend.
Meanwhile, some consumers are becoming more selective in their spending habits, as noted in Target’s results earlier this week, and inflation measures remain sticky. With a stable, albeit slightly cooling, labor market and a more selective consumer, the Fed is likely to remain focused on keeping rates at current levels, to ensure inflation moves lower to their target. How that policy impacts consumers in the coming weeks will be key for the economy and markets.
Overall, the yield on the 10-year US treasury is little-changed this morning, and equity futures are higher as we head into the market open.
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