Weak US jobless claims as the sign of stalling recovery

The US’s weekly jobless claims came out noticeably weaker than expected, further underlining the government stimulus packages’ importance.

Initial jobless claims for the week to February 13th jumped to 861K vs an expected fall to 775K. As in the previous week, the last data was worsened to 848K vs 793K initially reported.

This indicator’s trend has already ended in October, and the figures continue to creep slowly upwards, which is a dangerous development.

The number of repeat inquiries continues to trend downwards, falling below 4.5M in the week to February 6th. Partly this is due to Americans finding other jobs quickly, which is good.

However, this figure is partly falling because unemployment insurance is in effect for a limited time, so fewer people have the opportunity to reapply, which is not so good.

The FxPro Analyst Team