US Weekly Jobless Claims Fall Despite Government Shutdown
Initial unemployment claims for the week of January 12 dropped 3,000 from the previous week, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The seasonally adjusted figure of 213,000 was below experts’ estimates of 220,000, CNBC reported.
The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 220,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s average of 221,750, the Labor Department said.
The overall decrease came despite a spike in claims from federal workers seeking unemployment insurance benefits due to the partial government shutdown. About 10,000 federal workers filed claims, up from about 5,000 the week before.
“The decline in claims comes as a slight surprise, given the ongoing partial government shutdown, which is now the longest in US history,” said economist Pooja Sriram of Barclays, according to Marketwatch.
Federal workers who file for unemployment during the partial shutdown may face complications, CNBC reported.
President Donald Trump has signed legislation that ensures federal workers who are barred form going to the office will get paid for their time.
That could impact the numbers who file for unemployment, because they could have to repay any unemployment benefits they receive, CNBC has reported.
The dip in jobless claims was not the only positive economic news released Thursday.
Factory activity in America’s mid-Atlantic region rebounded in January with new orders, Reuters reported.
On Friday, the Federal Reserve announced that U.S. manufacturing output rose 1.1 percent in December, CNBC reported.
Motor vehicle production, which rose 4.7 percent, was a part of the increase, it said. The jump was the biggest gain since February.
Trump recently told reporters that America’s economy is moving forward.
“We’re doing very well with our economy. We’re at records — our unemployment numbers just hit a record, another record. We’re doing extremely well, as a country. We’re doing better than any country right now, anywhere in the world,” Trump said Monday, according to a White House media pool report.
The Labor Department reported that as of the week ending Dec. 29, Alaska was the only state with unemployment above 3 percent. It had a jobless rate of 3.4 percent.
The report issued Thursday also noted that for the week ending Jan. 5, New York State had the largest increase in initial claims for unemployment with an increase of 26,297 over the final week of 2018. Nearby New Jersey posted the largest drop in initial claims that week, with a drop of 8,016 over the prior week.
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