US initial unemployment claims decline slightly, indicating a moderate scale of layoffs

Gelonghui, March 12 — U.S. initial unemployment claims decreased last week, indicating that layoffs remain limited. The U.S. Department of Labor announced on Thursday that for the week ending March 7, initial claims totaled 213,000, down from 214,000 the previous week and below market expectations of 215,000. The continuing claims for the week ending February 28 dropped to 1.85 million, down from 1.87 million the week before. Before the release of the initial unemployment claims data on Thursday, the Department of Labor also reported a weaker-than-expected employment report last week, with 92,000 jobs lost last month, after a gain of 126,000 jobs in January. However, the more moderate initial claims data suggest that companies are more inclined to retain employees rather than implement large-scale layoffs.