U.S. jobless claims plunge to lowest level since 1969

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There were 187,000 initial jobless benefit claims in the week ended March 19 according to the Labor Department.

That is the lowest level since 1969.

The Wall Street Journal had predicted claims to total 210,000.

The number of people collecting unemployment benefits fell. The continuing claims are at their lowest level since the 1970s.

Companies are not laying off workers.

Powell said last week that the labor market is extremely tight and wages are rising at the fastest pace in a long time. Layoffs are expected to stay low. There could be some pain in the labor market once the Fed starts hiking interest rates.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that the drop in claims completes the reversal of the spike.

Most of the unemployment claims are due to the labor market and occasional manufacturing shutdowns due to supply shortages. The economic team at Contingent Macro expects claims to settle around 200,000.

Market reaction: U.S. stocks DJIA, +0.62% SPX, +0.84% were set to open higher Thursday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 2.333% rose to 2.373%.