Weekly Jobless Claims Continue To Decline: 5 Staffing Picks
Zacks Investment Research | Mar 18, 2018 09:33PM ET
U.S. Labor Department’s weekly jobless claims data for the week ended Mar 10 provides fresh evidence that the labor market is in strong shape. Since the beginning of this year, the U.S. labor market remains firm buoyed by strong job additions and record-low unemployment level. Modest wage growth assuaged employer’s fears over rising inflation and interest rate hikes.
Strong non-farm payrolls data for February along with continuing decline in the weekly jobless claim indicates that employers will continue to recruit more employees. U.S. employers are on a hiring mode as both blue collar and white collar industries hiring as the economy remains remarkably strong. Consequently, it makes sense to invest in good staffing stocks to enrich portfolio.
Jobless Claims Continues to Slip
On Mar 15, the U.S. Labor Department data revealed that weekly jobless claims decreased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 226,000 for the week ended Mar 10. This was the 158th consecutive week that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits remained below the 300,000 threshold. The continued decline in weekly jobless claims data reflects longest trend since 1970.
The four-week moving average of initial claims dropped 750 to 221,500 for the week ended Mar 10. This metric is considered a better measure of labor market trends as it eliminates weekly fluctuations. Likewise, the four-week moving average of continuing claims declined 17,250 to 1.89 million. This was the lowest level witnessed since November 2017.
On Mar 12, the U.S. Labor Department Data revealed that the economy added 313,000 jobs in February 2018, exceeding the consensus estimate of 208,000. Moreover, the total labor force increased by 806,000 and now stands slightly below 162 million. This is the highest since September 2003. (Read: Zacks Investment Research
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