New claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. dropped in the latest week as the private sector continues to add jobs, suggesting that the labor market has good momentum entering the second quarter of the year, according to Bloomberg. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 388,000 during the week ending Mar. 26. Economists’ forecast a fall of 2,000 claims, but the report also revised up the previous week’s figure by 12,000 to 394,000. The drop was offset by the revision, and left the four-week average of new claims 3,250 higher at 394,250.
Additionally, the report showed that the number of Americans continuing to receive claims fell by 51,000 in the week ending Mar. 19 to 3.71 million, which is the lowest level since October 2008. Ryan Sweet of Moody’s Analytics said the data indicated “The labor market is slowly but surely improving,” forecasting that hiring will quicken in the coming months. A separate report from Bloomberg showed the consumer comfort index rose by two points from a seven-month low to -46.9 in the week ending Mar. 27, which is still at a low level associated with recessions.