Applications for US unemployment benefits fell by the most since November, adding to evidence of stabilization in the labor market.
Initial claims decreased by 23,000 to 206,000 in the week ended Feb. 14, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. That was lower than all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
In the past year, new applications have fallen below the 210,000 mark only a handful of times. That level of weekly filings is a sign that layoffs widely remain low. The data also suggest that people who were temporarily unable to work due to a severe winter storm that spanned the country in late January have returned to their jobs.
However, continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, rose to 1.87 million in the previous week, the highest since early January.
What Bloomberg Economics Say…
“It appears the late-January cold spell and an imperfect seasonal-adjustment process have contributed to the recent volatility in initial claims. We take somewhat more signal from the rise in continuing claims. Workers have been finding it more difficult to find new jobs, and soft labor demand may prevent the unemployment rate from declining further in the months ahead.”
— Stuart Paul
The four-week moving average of new applications, a metric that helps smooth out volatility, was little changed at 219,000 last week.
Before adjusting for seasonal factors, initial claims saw a large decline. New York, Pennsylvania and Texas saw the biggest drops.
Separate data out Thursday showed the US trade deficit widened in December, capping a year marked by erratic tariff policy.
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