U.S. jobless claims drop last week

WASHINGTON, March 29: The number of initial jobless claims dropped last week in the United States, according to a report released by the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday.

In the week ending on March 23, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped by 5,000 to 211,000 from the previous week's revised figure, said the report.

The previous week's level was revised down by 5,000 from 221,000 to 216,000, said the Labor Department.

The Labor Department's report also showed that the four-week average of initial claims, a method to iron out data volatility, dropped by 3,250 to 217,250 last week while the previous week's average was revised down from 225,000 to 220,500.

 As an important leading indicator to reflect unemployment status in the United States, the reading of jobless claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, signaling a tight labor market in the United States.

The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) released more dovish signals to the market recently, even as the tightness persisted in the labor market.

The Fed left its interest rates unchanged after concluding a two-day policy meeting on March 20. Meanwhile, the Fed said it intends to conclude the reduction of its aggregate securities holdings at the end of September.

The reading of jobless claims once reached 202,000 in mid-September 2018, the lowest level since December 1969.

(Xinhua/APP)