U.S. weekly jobless claims drop to lowest level since 1969
This is great news that is getting ignored
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a 52 1/2-year low last week, while unemployment rolls continued to shrink, pointing to rapidly diminishing labor market slack that will keep boosting wage inflation.
The strength in the job market reported by the Labor Department on Thursday may push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by half a percentage point at its next policy meeting in May. Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Monday said the U.S. central bank must move expeditiously to raise rates and possibly more aggressively to keep high inflation from becoming entrenched.
The Fed last week increased its policy interest rate by 25 basis points, the first hike in more than three years.
U.S. businesses are not laying off workers because they know the enormous challenges theyre facing in filling open positions, said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moodys Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.