Despite ongoing banking concerns and continued layoffs in the tech sector, the labor market remains stable, according to the latest data from the Department of Labor.
- The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims were 198,000 for the week ending March 25th, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 191,000. Economists were projecting a slightly smaller increase to 196k.
- Increases in Michigan (+4,465), Massachusetts (+2,2693), and California (+2,503) were responsible for the bigger than expected increase.
Continuing Claims. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 18th was 1.689M, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level and lower than the 1.697M economists predicted.