U.S. labor market conditions continue to tighten

In the week ending 17 September, the U.S. initial jobless claims dropped sharply to 252,000. It was lower than consensus expectations. The initial claims number matches to the survey week for the employment report. The number showed in the report is 11,000 lower than that of the August survey week and implies some bolstering of the labor market in the U.S.

The four-week moving average in initial claims dropped to at 259,000 after rounding, noted Barclays in a research not. Meanwhile, continuing claims dropped to 2.1123 million in the week ending 10 September. Overall, the claims data imply that the U.S. labor market continues to tighten at the national level, said Barclays. State wise, changes in claims were modest except in California. The state of California continued to have large declines in both initial and continuing claims.