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Investing.com - The number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits declined to a three-year low last week.
Seasonally-adjusted initial jobless claims came in at 191,000 in the week ending on November 29, according to Labor Department data. It was a decrease of 27,000 from an upwardly-revised level of 218,000 in the prior week, and the lowest mark since September 2022.
Economists had predicted a reading of 219,000.
The four-week moving average, which aims to account for variations in the weekly figure, dipped by 9,500 to 214,750.
Meanwhile, the advance number for adjusted insured unemployment during the week until November 22 was 1.939 million, a decrease of 4,000 from the preceding week. So-called continuing claims are often used as a proxy for hiring.
Thursday’s numbers come as investors are widely expecting the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates at its upcoming monetary policy meeting on December 9-10 in a bid to support a weakening labor market. Recent data has appeared to indicate that while layoffs and firings have remained low, demand for Americans looking for work has stayed muted.
Although there has been a relative dearth of more comprehensive official employment data due to a record-long federal government shutdown, the Fed argued at meetings in October and September that there is enough evidence of a slowing in the job market to warrant an easing in borrowing costs.
Odds that the Fed will reduce rates by a quarter of a percentage point now hover around 87%, CME’s FedWatch Tool has shown. The central bank’s target rate range is currently 3.75% to 4%.