U.S. Economy Flexes Muscle with Jobless Benefit Rolls At A 52-Year Low

• The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week as demand for labour remained strong, positioning the economy for another month of solid job gains. Unemployment benefit rolls were the smallest in 52 years in early March, the Labour Department's weekly jobless claims report on Thursday also showed. 
• Signs of the economy's underlying strength against the backdrop of rising inflation and geopolitical tensions were also evident in other reports showing an acceleration in manufacturing production last month and a sharp rebound in homebuilding. 
• The three-week-old Russia-Ukraine war poses a risk to the U.S. labour market through disruptions of supply chains and record-high gasoline prices. However, with companies hungry for labour, economists are optimistic the labour market and economy will ride out the storm. 
• Factories in the region encompassing eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware hired more workers and increased hours for employees. They, however, continued to struggle with higher input prices and delays getting materials, which kept order backlogs long.

(Source: Reuters)