United States Initial Jobless Claims

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US fell by 5,000 to 207,000 in the week ending April 20th, the lowest in two months, and below market expectations of 214,000. This unexpected downturn provides more support for the notion of a tight labor market, adding leeway for the Federal Reserve to delay interest rate cuts to tackle stubborn inflation. The four-week-moving average, which reduces week-to-week volatility, declined by 1,250 to 213,250. In the meantime, the non-seasonally adjusted claim count eased by 7,363 to 201,619, as declines in New York (-4,174) and Pennsylvania (-2,796) offset increases in Massachusetts (3,565) and Rhode Island (1,719).