U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Decline Slightly, Indicating Moderate Layoff Trends

Odaily Planet Daily report: The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. last week declined, indicating that corporate layoffs remain limited. The U.S. Department of Labor stated on Thursday that initial jobless claims for the week ending March 7 totaled 213,000, below the prior week’s 214,000 and also below the market expectation of 215,000. Continuing claims for the week ending February 28 fell to 1.85 million, down from 1.87 million the previous week. Prior to Thursday’s release of initial jobless claims data, the Department of Labor last week published a weaker-than-expected jobs report, showing a net loss of 92,000 jobs last month, following a gain of 126,000 in January. However, the relatively mild initial jobless claims data suggest that businesses prefer to retain employees rather than implement large-scale layoffs. (Jinshi)