US weekly jobless claims at 52-year low as labour market tightens

A job seeker talks to a representative from the TSA at a jobs fair at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, the US, December 7 2021. Picture: BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS

The claims report, the most timely data on the economy's health, followed on the heels of news last week that the jobless rate fell to a 21-month low of 4.2% in November. Data on Wednesday showed there were 11-million job openings at the end of October and Americans quit jobs at near-record rates. Claims have declined from a record high of 6.149-million in early April of 2020. Applications typically increase as the weather gets colder, but economists say this seasonal pattern is not holding because of a tightening labour market.“The seasonal factors had expected an increase of 106,047 from the previous week,” the department said in its report.

“The labour market continues to tighten on almost every metric and in almost every report that pertains to jobs,” said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic adviser at Brean Capital in New York. “Layoffs are running at extremely low levels and consistent with a tight labour market when the unemployment rate averaged 3.8%.”

A separate report from the commerce department on Thursday showed the accumulation of wholesale inventories accelerated in October, supporting the stronger growth expectations.

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