U.S. 4-week average of jobless claims drops to lowest level in seven months

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Economic Report

U.S. 4-week average of jobless claims drops to lowest level in seven months

Last Updated: Sept. 14, 2023 at 9:05 a.m. ET
First Published: Sept. 14, 2023 at 8:37 a.m. ET
By Greg Robb

Claims rise 3,000 to 220,000 in latest week

The numbers: Initial jobless benefit claims stayed in ultra-low territory in the latest week with the 4-week moving average of claims falling to lowest level since February.

In the week ended Sept. 9, claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 3,000 to 220,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. This is also near February lows.

Non-seasonally adjusted claims dropped 16,854 to 174,499. That’s the lowest since last October. ... Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would rise 4,000 to 220,000.

Last week claims rose a revised 12,000 to 217,000. That compared with the initial estimate of a decrease of 13,000 to 216,000. ... The four-week moving average of claims fell 5,000 to 224,500 in the latest week. This is the lowest level since late February.

Key details: The number of people already collecting jobless benefits in the week ended Sept. 2 rose by 4,000 to 1.69 million.

Big picture: There are some signs that the pace of hiring is softening, but there are very few workers being laid off. Federal Reserve officials want to see some softening in the economy and the labor market in order to get inflation under control.

What are they saying? “Layoffs remains low and, for now, there is no sign that businesses are shedding workers in large numbers in response to restrictive monetary policy that is aimed at weakening demand and economic activity,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

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[Voltaire2]

1. The system we've built demands unemployment.

Not too much unemployment as that will reduce demand for commodity consumption, but enough unemployment to prevent any increase in the share of profits going to workers.

It is a really shitty system. Also it is destroying the planet’s ecosystem and simultaneously making people psychotic.

Apparently we cannot change the system to stop doing these things.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. What do you propose as an alternative or a solution? Thanks. NT

[Voltaire2]

3. Me? I propose democratic socialism.

I have no expectations of that happening. As I said, within the current dominant ideology, there is no alternative, the global economic system cannot be questioned.

[House of Roberts]

4. The US economy has never experienced this problem before.

People retiring in large enough numbers to create labor shortages beyond what the Fed can do to mitigate it.

Just because we retire doesn't stop us from being consumers, so demand stays up. This may be a factor in why the Rs want to cut Social Security benefits and delay qualifying for them. Prices won't come down as long as demand remains up.