US jobless claims data calm labour mkt jitters

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, which eased fears of a marked deterioration in labour market conditions after a surprise stumble in job growth in March.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, unwinding a jump in the prior week that appeared related to difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal variations. That was the largest weekly drop since mid-November.

Claims are now back at the lower end of their range for this year. Data for the week ended March 30 was revised to show 3,000 more applications than previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to fall to 365,000 last week.

"We have seen considerable improvements in this series, and the labor market, particularly when it comes to layoffs," said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Services in Troy, Michigan.

Stock index futures edged higher on the report, while the dollar trimmed losses against the yen.

Differences in the timing of Easter and school spring breaks, which likely threw off the model used to smooth the data for seasonal fluctuations, had been blamed for the spike in claims during the week ended March 30.

A Labor Department analyst said no states had been estimated and there was nothing unusual in the state-level data. He noted, however, that the floating Easter holiday and spring breaks continued to pose challenges for the so-called seasonal factor.

The seasonal distortions in the data will probably remain over the next few weeks. The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labour market trends, increased 3,000 to 358,000.

Despite the rise, the four-week average stayed close to a level economists normally associate with payroll gains of about 150,000 per month.

The job market suffered a setback in March, with employers hiring the fewest number of workers in nine months. However, economists say the 88,000 payrolls gain after a solid 268,000 increase in February overstated the labour market's weakness.

The economy had experienced relatively strong job gains since October. The claims data is being monitored for signs of layoffs related to $85 billion in government budget cuts known as the "sequester".

Economists say there is little evidence so far to suggest that the spending cuts which took hold on March 1 were hurting the labour market, noting the weakness in payroll growth last month had not been confined to sectors expected to be hard hit by the Budget cuts.

The Federal Reserve has tied monetary policy to the labour market. Minutes of its March 19-20 meeting released on Wednesday showed the US central bank was moving closer to ending its monthly $85 billion purchases of mortgage and Treasury bonds to keep rates low and spur faster job growth.

The meeting was held before the release of March's weak employment report.

A second report from the Labor Department showed little sign of inflation, with import prices slipping 0.5 per cent last month after rising 0.6 per cent in February.

In the 12 months to March, import prices dropped 2.7 per cent. Prices last month were subdued by a drop in the cost of petroleum, which offset a spike in imported food prices.

Export prices also fell last month, sliding 0.4 per cent after increasing 0.7 per cent in February.

Export prices were last month weighed down by declines in prices for industrial supplies and materials. Prices for non-agricultural industrial supplies and materials also fell as did prices for consumer goods excluding automobiles.