Here come initial jobless claims ...
Economists estimate that the number of first-time filings for unemployment benefits rose to 270,000 last week from 267,000 in the prior period, according to Bloomberg.
Since last Friday's weak jobs report that raised some concerns about the labor market, economists have weighed in how important it is to track the initial jobless claims numbers.
Citi's Steven Englander pointed out that leading up to recessions, claims usually spike in the months after nonfarm payrolls tanked, Bloomberg wrote. And so in a sense, this is one of the numbers to pay more attention to.
But in a note Thursday, Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Shepherdson contends that weekly claims are not always the best indicator of a downturn because when things start to go bad, employers first slow the pace of hiring before firing people.
Either way, initial claims remain near a 42-year low, and have been one of the better-looking indicators of the jobs market.
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