Initial Claims At 348k Last Week, Four Week Average At 355k

Initial Claims for Unemployment benefits report was released today by the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor. The figures showed new claims totaling 348k in the week ending March 17th. Analysts had expected the figures to show around 355k. The figure comes on the back of last week’s 351k and the week before’s 364k. The new figure shows an increasing stability in the levels of people seeking unemployment benefits. This is advantageous as the economy recovers from a volatile time for employment rates. The initial claims will be seen as a stabilising factor, though the lack of…