US: Volatile jobless claims indicate solid labor market strength - Nomura

Initial jobless claims ticked up marginally by 2k to 211k in the week ending 28 April while continuing claims fell sharply by 77k to 1756k for the week ending 21 April (reported with a 1-week lag), notes the research team at Nomura.

Key Quotes

“Weekly claims can be volatile around holidays due to imperfect seasonal adjustment. The low readings on initial claims over the past two weeks correspond with a moderate pickup in claims around late-March/early-April. Similarly, the drop in continuing claims corresponds to more volatility than usual in this series over the first few months of 2018. Looking through the volatility, both series indicate solid labor market strength heading into May.”