U.S. initial jobless claims continue to stay low, low layoffs level to underpin household sentiment, spending

U.S. initial jobless claims continued to stay low in the beginning of 2017. For the week ending 7 January, initial jobless claims rose from the prior week’s very low level to 247,000, consistent with consensus expectations of 255,000. The four-week moving average dropped to 257,000.

Meanwhile, continuing claims for the week ending 31 December dropped modestly to 2087k from an upwardly revised 2116k. Taking a look at the state-level detail, New York and California continued to see major declines in jobless claims, with small changes in most other states.

Looking at the report, the level of claims appears to be in line with the ongoing rebound in U.S. labor markets. Meanwhile, the low level of layoffs would possibly continue to underpin household sentiment and spending, said Barclays in a research report.