American weekly jobless claims surge

The overall number of American citizens coming up with applications for jobless benefits shot up from an almost 49-year minimum the previous week. It definitely hints at evident strength in the country’s labor market as well as broader economy.

While other Thursday’s report uncovered that factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region speeded down to a 2-1/2-year minimum this month, manufacturers posted hiring more employees and were quite optimistic about business conditions over the coming six months.

Fears are mounting that tightening financial market conditions, partly the outcome of a resent selloff on Wall Street, might spread to the labor market and also economy. Financial experts informed that the weekly jobless claims data revealed no indication that the financial market volatility was affecting businesses’ hiring decisions.

By December 15, initial claims for state unemployment benefits shot up by 8,000 to a seasonally updated 214,000, as the Labor Department revealed. Claims had sunk to 206,000 last week, approaching the 202,000 recorded in mid-September that turned out to be the lowest reading since December 1969.

Market experts had hoped claims would soar to 216,000 in the recent week.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve had interest rates ramped up for the fourth time in 2018, although predicted fewer rate lifts in 2019 and indicated its tightening cycle is approaching its end against the backdrop of financial market volatility as well as decelerating global surge.

The Fed added that the American labor market kept strengthening and characterized job gains as firm in general.

American financial markets were moved a bit by the data as traders digested the Fed's interest rate verdict along with projections for monetary policy for 2019. Moreover, American Treasury gains went down to more than eight-month minimums. Additionally, the USD index tumbled versus a group of currencies.