TBI
Economists estimate that initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 275,000 last week. In the prior week, claims came in at 282,000, while the four-week average increased by 3,250 to 275,500.
This is the last major data release on the labor market before the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next week. Following the jobs report on Friday, which showed a lower-than-expected gain in payrolls and a drop in the unemployment rate, we learned yesterday that job openings surged to a record high in July.
Claims have come in under 200,000 for 26 straight weeks.
"The recent claims data suggest that involuntary layoffs remain low and job creation remains robust," Nomura economists said in a preview to clients. "We expect initial jobless claims to remain at low levels for the week ending 5 September."
We'll be back with the latest once the data cross.