Weekly Workplace Requirements in the United States

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased last week, but the trend in claims continued to be in line with stricter labor market conditions.

Initial state unemployment benefit claims increased 8,000 to seasonally adjusted 215,000 for the week ending July. 27, the labor department said Thursday. Last week's data was revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had predicted that claims would increase to 214,000 over the past week. The Labor Department said no allegations were made last week.

There are still no signs of retrieval in layoffs as a result of an ongoing US-China trade war. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for the first time since 2008 to hedge against diminishing risks to the economy from trade tensions and slow global growth.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that preventive monetary easing was not "the beginning of a wide range of interest rate cuts." Powell gave a positive assessment of the labor market, saying "people living and working in low- and middle-income communities tell us that many have struggled to find work now getting opportunities to add new and better chapters to life. "

The labor market force is expected to underpin the declining economy as rising wages support consumer spending.

The four-week moving average of the first requirements, considered a better measure of the labor market trends as it moves from week to week. volatility, fell 1[ads1],750 to 211,500 last week.

The requirements data have no significance for Julie's employment report, which is scheduled to be published on Friday. According to a Reuters survey of economists, non-farm users probably rose by 164,000 jobs in July after rising 224,000 in June. Job gains averaged 172,000 per month during the first half of this year, below the monthly average of 223,000 in 2018.

However, the pace of job gains remains above the roughly 100,000 per month needed to keep up with work growth -population. Unemployment is expected to remain steady at 3.7% in July.

Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people receiving benefits after the first week of assistance increased 22,000 to 1.70 million for the week ending July 20. The week's moving average of the so-called continuing claims increased by NOK 750 to 1.70 million.