New claims for unemployment insurance benefits fell to 254,000 in the second week of December, the Department of Labor reported Thursday, down from a low 258,000 the week before.
Forecasters had expected to jobless claims, which are adjusted for seasonal variations, to tick down to 255,000.
Low jobless claims are good news. Fewer people showing up in state unemployment agencies to collect benefits suggests that jobs are more plentiful. Investors pay close attention to claims because they are released weekly, providing a gauge of labor market health between monthly jobs reports.
For that reason, Thursday’s release is more good news about jobs in the U.S.
Over the past month, weekly new claims have averaged just under 258,000, well below the 300,000 mark at which economists believe unemployment would start to rise. In fact, claims haven’t hit that level in 93 straight weeks, a streak unseen since 1970.
Claims signaling continued job growth are one more sign that the jobs market appears to be nearing full health as President Obama prepares to hand off his office to President-elect Trump.
“We’re roughly comparable to 2007 levels, when we thought there was a normal amount of slack in the labor market,” Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen said Wednesday in a press conference following the central bank’s decision to raise its interest rate target. That decision was based on the expectation that the labor market was approach full employment.
