US initial jobless claims rise to 224,000

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a slightly accelerated pace in the week ended 30 November, according to the Labor Department, hitting 224,000, up from 213,000 in the previous week and ahead of expectations of 215,000. However, even with the increase, last week's reading still adds weight to the belief that the US labour market remains at historically strong levels despite the aggressive tightening cycle implemented by the Federal Reserve in recent quarters, giving it room to slow the pace of monetary loosening if inflation were to remain stubbornly high.

Elsewhere, the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, rose by 750 to 218,250, while the non-seasonally adjusted claim count fell by 34,967 to 210,166 and outstanding claims fell by 25,000 to 1.87m.



















Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com