US: Jobless claims inched down to 249k, beating expectations - Nomura

Research Team at Nomura, notes that the US initial job claims for the week ending 1 October inched down to 249k from 254k of the prior week, beating market expectations (Consensus 256k).

Key Quotes

“Compared with the prior year, the initial job claims level is down 6.7%. Moreover, continuing claims for the week ending 24 September slipped to 2058k from an upwardly revised 2064k of the prior week, down 7.1% y-o-y, modestly below market expectations (Consensus 2081k). This is a good sign that layoffs will continue to stay low and labor market conditions are still healthy.”