U.S. initial jobless claims fall to the lowest level in more than three years, easing concerns about a deteriorating job market

On December 4, the number of initial jobless claims in the US fell to the lowest level in more than three years last week, with no signs of deterioration in the labor market. The US Department of Labor said on Thursday that, for the week ending November 29, seasonally adjusted initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 27,000 to 191,000, the lowest level since September 2022 and below the market expectation of 220,000. The data includes last Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday, during which application numbers tend to fluctuate significantly. The current level of applications is consistent with historically low levels of layoffs, which may ease concerns in the market about a sudden deterioration in the labor market—previously, Wednesday’s ADP employment report showed that private sector employment in November had its largest drop in more than two and a half years. The highly anticipated November nonfarm payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was originally scheduled to be released on Friday, but has been postponed to December 16 due to a record 43-day government shutdown. Economists believe the labor market remains in a “no layoffs, no hiring” state. (Jin10)