Lates News

The number of initial jobless claims in the United States last week decreased, indicating that the labor market is still in a "low layoff" state. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that the number of initial jobless claims for the week ending June 13 decreased by 4,000 to 226,000, slightly higher than the market expectation of 225,000. However, the number of continuing jobless claims increased to 1.81 million in the previous week. These data indicate that despite the energy price shock triggered by the Iran war, the US labor market remains resilient. The stronger-than-expected employment report in May further confirmed this view, showing that US employers added 172,000 jobs. The related data eased concerns in the market about a significant slowdown in hiring activity and further encouraged investors to increase their bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike.