Jobless Claims Decline From Two Month High

Following three consecutive weeks of increases in initial jobless claims, which pushed the series to its highest level since the start of February, according to the BLS the last week saw a 9K decline in the number of claimants which dropped from 276K to 267K. This was fractionally below the 270K expected print, and suggests that recent concerns about an inflection point in job trends may have been premature.

Continuing claims, on the other hand, jumped from 2.172MM to 2.191MM, above the 2.17MM expected, and a modest pick up from recent series lows.

Finally, the chart below puts all reported labor trends in context: