Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended Aug. 3, the Labor Department said on Thursday, the largest drop in about 11 months. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 240,000 claims for the latest week.
Initial jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended Aug. 3, the Labor Department said Thursday, suggesting fears that the labor market is unravelling were overblown.
Oil prices edged up on Thursday after U.S. jobs data eased demand concerns and war in the Middle East helped prices recover for a third consecutive session, having slumped at an eight-month low on Monday.
Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency prices moved in a flat-to-low range, and were sitting on steep losses this week as concerns over slowing U.S. economic growth and rising Japanese interest rates battered risk-driven markets.
The “unexpected drop in jobless claims offers a welcome positive indication of labor market conditions, softening concerns of more precipitous weakness in the aftermath of a somewhat disappointing jobs report,” Stifel said.
