The number of initial jobless claims in the US unexpectedly fell to 203,000, continuing to be at an all-time low, and layoffs are still rare

The Zhitong Finance App learned that data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that for the week ending August 22, the number of initial jobless claims in the US was 203,000 after seasonal adjustments, a decrease of 4,000 from 207,000 after the previous week's revision, which is lower than the 208,000 expected by the market. This shows that despite an unexpected decline in employment growth in July, the overall labor market remained stable, and corporate layoffs remained low.

Since this year, the number of initial jobless claims has been hovering at a low level between 189,000 and 230,000, which shows that corporate layoffs are moderate, even though the recruitment momentum has slowed down. Last month, the US unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.1% and is still at an all-time low.

If the stable trend in the labor market continues, the Federal Reserve may be able to continue to focus on curbing inflation. Currently, the US inflation rate has been above the target level of 2% for 65 consecutive months.

According to the unemployment claim renewal data released at the same time, as of August 15, the number of people who continued to receive unemployment benefits after applying for the first time decreased by 18,000 to 1.778,000. This week's data coincides with the survey reference period for the August Non-Farm Payroll Report.

According to another report released by the US Census Bureau, the US merchandise trade deficit widened from US$101.4 billion in June to US$118.8 billion, with exports falling 2.9% and imports rising 3.7%. Currently, US President Trump is trying to reduce the trade deficit by imposing large import tariffs, but the latest data shows that the deficit is still widening.