Americans filing for unemployment benefits numbered less last week than at any time in the last 44 years, pointing to further tightening in the stateside labour market even as economic growth appears to have remained moderate in the first quarter.
Figures released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department indicated initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 223,000 for the week ended Feb. 25, the lowest level since March 1973. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 fewer applications received than previously reported.
It was the 104th straight week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labour market.
That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labour market in the States was much smaller. The labour market is at or close to full employment, with the unemployment rate at 4.8%.
Labour market tightness in the United States, combined with rising inflation, could encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its March 14-15 policy meeting.
Economists had forecast new claims for unemployment benefits among American job seekers, dipping to 243,000 in the latest week.
