According to the Department of Labor, the number of initial jobless claims decreased to 211,000.
Economists supposed that their number couldd be 230,000. However, it turned out to be 20,000 less than last week. This is the lowest level since early autumn.
The number of weekly claims varies, especially during holidays. Nevertheless, senior US economist for Oxford Economics Nancy Vanden Houten supposes that this number shows the difficult situation in the job market.
She says that initial claims are volatile during holidays. But their small number indicates that companies don’t tend to dismiss the staff which was so hard to recruit.
Vanden Houten added that according to this information, the job market is currently tight for the Fed. The Federal Reserve System increased the rate several times to reduce inflation. Fed officials are concerned that the number of vacancies exceeds the number of job seekers. Such a disbalance can provoke price and wage hikes.