The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended June 26th.
The report said initial jobless claims slid to 364,000, a decrease of 51,000 from the previous week's revised level of 415,000.
With the bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 256,000 in the week ended March 14, 2020.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to its lowest level in over a year, edging down by 6,000 to 392,750 from the previous week's revised average of 398,750.
Meanwhile, the report showed continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, rose by 56,000 to 3.469 million in the week ended June 19th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims still fell by 75,000 to 3,481,750, hitting its lowest level since the week ended March 21, 2020.
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in June, with the overall economy notching a 13th consecutive month of growth, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
The June Manufacturing PMI registered 60.6 percent, a decrease of 0.6 percentage point from the May reading of 61.2 percent. This figure indicates expansion in the overall economy for the 13th month in a row after contraction in April 2020. The New Orders Index registered 66 percent, decreasing 1 percentage point from the May reading of 67 percent. The Production Index registered 60.8 percent, an increase of 2.3 percentage points compared to the May reading of 58.5 percent.
The Prices Index registered 92.1 percent, up 4.1 percentage points compared to the May figure of 88 percent and the index's highest reading since July 1979 (93.1 percent). The Backlog of Orders Index registered 64.5 percent, 6.1 percentage points lower than the May reading of 70.6 percent. The Employment Index registered 49.9 percent; 1 percentage point lower compared to the May reading of 50.9 percent.
The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 75.1 percent, down 3.7 percentage points from the May figure of 78.8 percent. The Inventories Index registered 51.1 percent, 0.3 percentage point higher than the May reading of 50.8 percent. The New Export Orders Index registered 56.2 percent, an increase of 0.8 percentage point compared to the May reading of 55.4 percent. The Imports Index registered 61 percent, a 7-percentage point increase from the May reading of 54 percent.
U.S. construction spending fell 0.3% in May. Growth in housing, the economy's standout performer, slowed while activity in areas most directly impacted by the pandemic showed further weakness.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the May decline followed a slight 0.1% rise in April and left overall construction spending up 7.5% from a year ago. ■