WASHINGTON: The tight US labor market produced another record low for new claims for unemployment insurance last week, which hit the lowest level in almost 44 years, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The result emphasized the robust health of US jobs markets after months of steady job creation.
For the week ending February 25, first-time jobless claims fell to 223,000, seasonally adjusted, a big drop of 19,000 from the prior week. It also surprised analysts who were expecting a significantly higher reading of 244,000.
The result was the lowest recorded since March 31, 1973 and marked a full two years below 300,000 -- the longest such stretch since 1970.
The less volatile four-week moving average for initial claims fell 6,250 to 234,250 new claims, the lowest since April 14, 1973.
The jobless claims tally sees large swings from week to week but can be used to gauge the prevalence of layoffs and the health of the labor market.
Policymakers at the Federal Reserve are to due to review interest rates later this month and central bankers have emphasized that another interest rate hike could come soon.
The tightening labor market increases the likelihood they will move this month, especially in light of recent inflation data: the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, released Wednesday, rose to a nearly four-year high, just below the Fed's two percent target.
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