Weekly US jobless claims continue falling at steady pace

Unemployment claims in the US continued falling at a steady pace over the latest week.

According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, initial unemployment claims fell by 42,000 to reach 712,000 over the week ending on 6 March.

The four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out the fluctuations from one week to the next, also retreated, by 34,000 too 759,000.

Secondary unemployment claims, which are those not being filed for the first time and referencing the week ended on 27 February dropped by 193,000 to 4.144m.

"When states re-open, firms which may have been on the brink of layoffs have an incentive to hold onto staff for a while longer, at least," said Pantheon Macroeconomics's chief US economist.

"We expect this effect to become much more powerful over the next couple of months, and we expect to see jobless claims falling rapidly through the spring. We look for 500K or less per week by Memorial Day."