Following a four-year high, initial jobless claims fell by 33,000 to 231,000, coming in below expectations. Continuing claims, which reflect the number of people still receiving unemployment benefits, also dipped by 7,000 to 1.92 million.
What’s the bottom line? While the drop in new claims is a positive sign, continuing claims have remained above 1.9 million for 17 straight weeks. This suggests it’s taking longer for people to find new jobs, pointing to a cooling labor market.