First Time Jobless Claims Rise 11K, Still At Or Near All Time Lows

Jobless claims did rise in the latest week but remain at or near all-time lows. Initial claims rose 11,000 in the March 26 week to 276,000 with the 4-week average up 3,500 to a 263,250 level that is only marginally above recent trend. Continuing claims, in lagging data for the March 19 week, fell 7,000 to 2.173 million with the 4-week average down 14,000 to 2.191 million. These readings show tangible improvement from trend. The unemployment rate for insured workers is unchanged at a very low 1.6 percent. There are no special factors in today's report, one that confirms ongoing strength in the labor market heading into tomorrow's monthly employment report.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
Initial jobless claims are holding steady near record lows and are pointing to another month of solid employment growth for March. The Econoday consensus for the March 26th week is 266,000 which would be an increase of only 3,000 from the March 19th week. Continuing claims, like initial claims, have also been holding at historic lows.