The number of initial unemployment claims remained high last week as employers struggled to fill the number of jobs. The initial claims volume recorded a reading of 411,000 for the week ended June 19, a slight decrease from the previous total of 418,000. However, this number is far off the expectations of analysts who are targeting only 380,000.
According to the head of economics at Pantheon Macroeconomics, the number of unemployment claims lately is a bit disturbing and unbelievable. He personally expects lower figures in July as the economy strengthens.
Employment data has been the biggest focus for policymakers, and the latest data shows that the number of claims fell sharply compared to the previous quarter. This was driven by a job offer of 9.3 million vacancies. The number of unemployment claims last week marked the second week in a row that the figure level remained above 400,000.
On the other hand, the US economy grew at a rate of 6.4% for the first 3 months of this year. The Commerce Department said on Thursday that GDP growth, the country’s total output of goods and services, was unchanged from the previous two estimates.
Economists believe GDP growth will pick up in the April-June quarter at an annual rate of 10% or better. For the whole year, the economy is expected to grow around 7%.
Following the release of these two data, it did not affect the market movement much but there was little selling of the dollar, especially in EUR / USD.
The Fed last week expressed high confidence in the booming job market but the demand figure remained above 400,000. The figures may be hard to read in the coming weeks as many states begin cutting pandemic stimulus funds.
In the past week, three U.S. states have cut unemployment assistance for the self -employed, gig workers, and the long -term unemployed. The focus of employment data continues to be a key guide.
The US dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against major currencies, fell 0.07% to 91.727.
