US: Marginal increase in initial jobless claims – Nomura

Analysts at Nomura note that for the week ending 5 August, US initial jobless claims increased marginally by 3k to 244k, while the four-week moving average ticked down 1k to 241k.

Key Quotes

“This reading remains within a steady range of 234-250k seen since the beginning of June 2017 and indicates that involuntary separations in the labor force remain subdued. Continuing claims, which lag initial claims reporting by one week, decreased 16k to 1951k for the week ending 29 July. The four-week moving average of continuing claims remained unchanged at 1965k. The insured unemployment rate, at 1.4%, has remained unchanged at its post-recession low since early April 2017. We expect both series to remain subdued over the medium term. Note that the initial claims data for next week will correspond to the survey period for the BLS employment report for August.”