Source: Wall Street News

The US job market is struggling to cool down slightly, and the average number of first-time applicants in four weeks reached its highest level in 8 months.

According to data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday, 219,000 people claimed unemployment benefits for the first time in the week of May 25, slightly exceeding market forecasts by 218,000. The previous value was raised from 215,000 to 216,000.

Meanwhile, in the week ending May 18, there was little change in the number of people who continued to claim unemployment benefits, at 1.791 million, which fell slightly short of expectations. The previous value was lowered to 1.787 million.

Overall, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits showed an upward trend. The average number of first-time applicants for four weeks rose to 222,500, the highest level in 8 months.

After the initial filing data was released, the three major US stock index futures rose slightly; the decline in NASDAQ futures narrowed to 0.11%, and S&P 500 futures fell 0.24%; US Treasury bonds rose slightly, and the yield on 30-year treasury bonds fell by more than 3 bps to 4.710%. The 10-year Treasury yield fell by about 5 bps to 4.584%.

By region, Tennessee and Michigan saw the biggest increase in applications, while Pennsylvania and California saw the biggest drop in applications.

It is worth mentioning that there has been a marked increase in the number of warnings and layoff announcements (provided by the government).

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by a total of 525 basis points since March 2022, and the labor market is steadily being rebalanced.The Federal Reserve Beige Book showsMost regions indicated that the labor supply situation has improved, but there are still labor shortages in some industries or regions. Many regions indicated that the employee turnover rate has declined, and one region indicates that the bargaining power of employers has improved.

edit/lambor