02.04.202612:37:44UTC+00US Initial Jobless Claims Test 2-Year Low

Initial jobless claims in the US fell by 9,000 in the fourth week of March to 202,000, coming in well below the consensus forecast of 212,000. The figure was just above the two-year low of 201,000 recorded in the first week of January—an outlier period often affected by holiday-related volatility—and reinforced the pattern of subdued layoffs that has so far deterred the Federal Reserve from accelerating its rate-cutting cycle this year.

At the same time, continuing jobless claims, a proxy for ongoing unemployment, rose by 25,000 to 1,841,000 in the third week of March. Despite the uptick, they remained below the average level seen in the second half of last year. Initial claims filed by federal employees—closely watched as a gauge of the labor-market impact of government shutdowns—increased by 38 to 622.