- Scotiabank
The number of Americans who seek unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined last week to the lowest level in 14 years, adding to further positive signs that the US labour market is strengthening. Initial claims for state jobless benefits plunged 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000, the lowest level since 2000, the Labor Department said. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better gauge of labour market trends as it strips out weekly volatility, dropped 4,250 to 283,500, also its 14-year low. When jobless claims drop below the 400,000 threshold, it is considered a sign of an improving jobs landscape, and when the number declines below 370,000, it indicates jobs are being created rather quickly. For the past nine weeks, the number of jobless claims was below the 370,000 mark.
This was not the only upbeat piece of data out of the U.S. A separate report showed industrial production in the world's largest economy rose 1% in September against forecasts for a 0.4% gain, the biggest increase since November 2012. In August, output slid 0.2% as the final data further downgraded the originally reported decrease of 0.1%, which had marked the first drop since January. With activity increasing, the amount of productive capacity in use surged to 79.3%, the highest level since June 2008.
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