WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – In the USA, significantly fewer people have recently filed an initial application for unemployment assistance. The Labor Department announced on Thursday in Washington that 187,000 new applications for aid were registered last week. That’s 16,000 fewer than the week before. Analysts had expected an average of 205,000 applications for aid.
The development on the labor market also plays an important role monetary policy the Fed. A strong labor market supports rising wages, which can further drive inflation. The Fed has been combating inflation for a long time with high key interest rates, but these have tended to fall in recent months. Significant interest rate cuts are therefore expected this year./bgf/jkr/jha/