US Weekly Jobless Claims Fall; Labour Market Defying Recession Fears

• The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, with applications in Massachusetts decreasing sharply, suggesting the labour market remains tight.
• The steep decline in weekly jobless claims reported by the Labor Department on Thursday reversed the surge in the prior week, which had boosted them to the highest level since Oct. 30, 2021. That increase was largely blamed on an unusual jump in applications for unemployment insurance in Massachusetts.
• The state's Department of Unemployment Assistance said last week it was "experiencing an increase in fraudulent claim activities in which people attempted to gain access to active UI accounts or file new UI claims using stolen personal information so they can fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits."
• "The labour market is not deteriorating like we had thought as jobless claims were pumped up to recession levels by fraudulent applications for unemployment benefits," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York.
• Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 242,000 for the week ended May 13. The drop was the largest since Nov. 20, 2021. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 254,000 for the latest week.
• The labour market is being closely watched for signs of stress from the Federal Reserve's fastest monetary policy tightening campaign since the 1980s. The U.S. central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged next month for the first time since it started hiking them in March 2022.

(Source: Reuters)