US jobless claims hit highest level in almost three months

Americans filed unemployment claims at an accelerated clip in the week ended 11 November, hitting their highest level in almost three months.

Initial unemployment claims rose by 13,000 to hit 231,000, according to the Labor Department, coming in well ahead of expectations for a reading of 220,000.

Continuing claims rose by 18,000 to 1.86m in the previous week, their highest level in nearly two years and sharply above market forecasts of 1.84m.

The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 to 218,000, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came in at 220,250, an increase of 7,750 from the previous week's revised average.

Oxford Economics' Nancy Vanden Houten said: "Initial jobless claims are still at levels consistent with relatively few layoffs, but they are creeping higher, rising to a three-month high in the week ending November 11. Meanwhile, continued claims continued their upward march in the week ended November 4, rising to the highest level in nearly a year. The upturn in continued claims suggests that unemployed individuals are finding it more difficult to find new jobs, which would be consistent with a slower pace of hiring.

"The claims data are consistent with a job market that is cooling enough to keep rate hikes off the table, but too strong to make rate cuts a consideration any time soon. The Fed is surely encouraged by recent inflation data but needs to see a further slowdown in the labor market and wage growth to be persuaded that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2%. We expect that scenario to evolve only gradually and don't expect the first rate cut until September of next year."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com