Labor Market Remains Stable Despite Energy Fears

Jobless claims decreased last week, surprising economists and signaling a labor market that remains steady despite the pressures caused by rising oil and gas prices.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance declined by 8,000 during the week ended Saturday (March 14), the Department of Labor (DOL) said in a Thursday (March 19) press release.

The total of 205,000 initial claims filed during the week was down from the previous week’s 213,000.

The four-week moving average of 210,750 was 750 lower than the previous week’s revised average of 211,500. The previous week’s figure was revised down by 500, according to the DOL.

Reuters reported Thursday that the decline in initial claims was unexpected. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the figure to be 10,000 higher, at 215,000.

The DOL data signals that the labor market remains stable, despite concerns that higher oil and gas prices caused by the Iran war could undermine it, according to the report.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that the economists it surveyed also expected the number of initial claims to rise to 215,000. The report said the DOL figure pointed to a continuing trend in which both firing and hiring are limited.

Bloomberg also reported that the 205,000 initial claims filed last week amounted to the lowest total since January.

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data published Friday (March 13) by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that there was little change in job openings in January, though they increased from the five-year low recorded in December.

In comments supplied to the DOL and included in the Thursday press release, the state with the greatest decrease in the number of initial claims filed during the week ended March 7, New York, attributed the change to fewer layoffs in three industries: transportation and warehousing; accommodation and food services; and health care and social assistance.

The two states with the greatest increases in the number of initial claims during that week, Missouri and Virginia, attributed the rise to layoffs in the manufacturing industry.

The DOL also reported Thursday that the insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ended March 7, unchanged from the previous week.

The insured unemployment number for that week was 1,857,000, which was 10,000 higher than the previous week’s revised level of 1,847,000. The figure for the previous week was revised down by 3,000.