American labor market tightens

The previous week, the total number of US citizens who filed applications for jobless benefits decreased to a 49-year minimum. It could soothe fears about a deceleration in the labor market and also in the US economy, in general.

Other Thursday’s data disclosed that in November import prices sank by the most for more than three years because the cost of petroleum products slumped and a firm greenback put pressure on prices of other products, hinting at subdued imported inflation.

Eventually, tightening labor market conditions back hopes that the Fed is going to have interest rates increased at its December 18-19 policy gathering. With inflation likely to stay tame through the first half of next year, market experts see fewer rate lifts in 2019.

The main US financial institution has ramped up borrowing costs up to three times in 2018.

By December 8, initial claims for state unemployment benefits went down by 27,000 to a seasonally updated 206,000, as the Labor Department revealed. The dive in applications that turned out to be the largest since April 2015 was most probably distorted by certain difficulties editing the data around this time of the year.

In mid-September, claims reached 202,000 that happened to be the lowest outcome since December 1969. Market experts had foreseen claims slipping to about 225,000 in the latest week.

By November 24, claims surged to an eight-month maximum of 235,000.

Besides this, the best gauge of labor market trends, the four-week moving average of initial claims went down by 3,750 reaching 224,750 the previous week.

The previous week's steep slump in claims also drops a hint that a deceleration in job surge in November occurred due to worker shortages. As for nonfarm payrolls, they shot up by up to 155,000 jobs having ascended by 237,000 in October.