FX.co ★ US Initial Jobless Claims Remain Low

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits edged up by 2,000 to 206,000 in the fourth week of August, broadly in line with market expectations of 205,000 and consistent with the recent trend of historically low claims since they fell to a near 60-year low of 189,000 in mid-July. Continuing claims, a measure of ongoing unemployment in the United States, increased by 8,000 to 1,779,000 in the preceding period. Together, these figures underscore the continued resilience of the US labor market, despite the unexpected contraction in payrolls reported in the latest BLS data, and they support the view of some FOMC members that the economy is operating at or near full employment. Meanwhile, initial claims filed by federal employees—closely watched amid the administration’s signals of a shrinking public sector—declined by 53 to 337.