US jobless claims fall to near six-month low

[WASHINGTON] The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to near a six-month low last week, pointing to a further tightening in the labor market that could encourage the Federal Reserve to lay out a plan to start unwinding its massive bond portfolio.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 232,000 for the week ended Aug 12, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

That was the lowest level since the week ended Feb 25 when claims fell to 227,000, which was the best reading since March 1973. Data for the prior week was unrevised.

It was the 128th week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a robust labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The unemployment rate is 4.3 per cent.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims dropping to 240,000 in the latest week. A Labor Department official said there were no special factors influencing the claims data and that no states had been estimated.

The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labour market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 500 to 240,500 last week.

Last week's claims data covered the survey week for the August nonfarm payrolls. The four-week average of claims fell 3,500 between the July and August survey periods, suggesting another month of solid job growth.

Payrolls increased by 209,000 jobs in July. The economy has added 1.29 million jobs this year and the unemployment rate has fallen five-tenths of a percentage point.

Labour market tightness has, however, failed to generate strong wage growth, contributing to inflation consistently below the Fed's 2 per cent target.

Minutes of the US central bank's July 25-26 policy meeting showed policymakers appeared increasingly cautious about weak inflation, with some urging against further interest rate increases.

But labour market strength is probably sufficient for the Fed to outline a proposal to begin offloading its US$4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities at its next policy meeting in September.

Most economists expect another rate hike in December. The Fed has increased borrowing costs twice this year.

Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid fell by 3,000 to 1.95 million in the week ended Aug 5. The so-called continuing claims have now been below the 2 million mark for 18 straight weeks, pointing to shrinking labour market slack.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims dropped by 6,000 to 1.96 million for the week ended Aug 5, remaining below the 2 million mark for the 16th consecutive week.

REUTERS