Weekly jobless claims total 184,000, just above expectations in tight labor market

The labor market where employers are loathe to fire workers is reflected in the higher than expected initial jobless claims last week.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that first-time claims for benefits in the week ended April 16 totaled 184,000, a decline of 2,000 from the previous week but still ahead of the estimate of 182,000.

The US employment picture is historically tight as job openings outnumber the available labor pool by about 5 million.

The number of continuing claims fell to their lowest level in over forty years.

The manufacturing expansion in the Philadelphia area in April was slower than expected.

The difference between expansion and contraction was represented by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's monthly manufacturing index. That was a decline of nearly 10 points from the previous month and below the estimate of 21.9.

The measures of new orders, shipments, unfilled orders, delivery times and the average employee work week were all down from March. The number of employees index also gained, reflecting continued inflation pressures, as prices paid and prices received both increased.

The summary of economic conditions around the U.S. noted the difficulty companies are having in finding workers.

Demand for workers was strong across most districts. The report said that hiring was held back by the lack of available workers.

The Fed is expected to raise interest rates in response to the inflation surge, but they hope it won't derail the economic recovery. The Fed's benchmark overnight borrowing rate is expected to rise to 2.5% this year from zero at the beginning of the year.

The continued progress of hiring is reflected in the jobless claims numbers. Through April 2, the total number of people receiving benefits had dropped to 1.62 million. A year ago, that total was 17.4 million, a number that has been cut as the government has restricted extended unemployment benefits and as hiring accelerated after the release of Covid vaccines.

The labor market hasn't caught up to its pre-pandemic self.

Even though the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6%, there are 408,000 fewer Americans working than in February 2020. The labor market is smaller and the labor force participation rate is lower.