The number of new claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. dropped in the week ending Apr. 16 after a big increase during the prior week, although the current level indicates stagnating job growth, according to The Wall Street Journal. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 13,000 in the latest week, falling short of economists’ forecast for a decrease of 17,000 claims. The drop brought seasonally adjusted claims to 403,000, from an upwardly revised 416,000 the week prior. The level of claims remains above the critical level of 400,000 that indicates labor market growth.
The weekly decrease brought the four-week average of new claims to 399,000, which is up 2,250 from the prior week, and suggests to economists from Royal Bank of Scotland that “the underlying pace of layoffs has flattened out in recent weeks.” A separate report from the Conference Board showed that its leading index of economic indicators gained 0.4% in March on top of an upwardly revised 1.0% increase the prior month, and outpaced estimates from analysts. The group said the latest reading suggests that U.S. economic growth will be sustained through the end of the year.