US Weekly Jobless Claims on Par with Fed’s Standards

The weekly jobless claims were released this morning, falling to 255,000 from 281,000 the previous week. This substantial drop brings claims to a historic low, the 255k mark is the fewest since November 1973. A labor department spokesman attributed the surprisingly low level of claims to employers retaining workers in a response to heightened demand and new growth initiatives. The labor official continued to state that volatility of this size is expected this time of the year due to auto plants preparing for the new model year and schools adjusting staff during the summer holiday. Strong numbers such as these tie into the Fed raising rates.  Just last week Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen noted there is still "slack" in the labor market. The 255k number combined with the low 5.3 percent jobless rate may lessen the slack Yellen was talking about and put the U.S. on track for a September rate hike, says Voya Global.