Despite Mass Layoffs, Jobless Claims Continue To Slide

It appears the mysterious Q2 labor market weakness seen in initial jobless claims data is over. The number of American filing for unemployment benefits for the first fell was 213k last week.

Continuing jobless claims also slipped from 1.401mm to 1.379mm Americans.

Non-Seasonally-adjusted initial jobless claims bounced very modestly of record lows last week…

This improvement comes as economic growth weakens, stocks crash and corporate layoff announcements surge…

If the labor market is really that tight that these laid off workers are instantly finding jobs and not going on the dole, then Powell is right when he says there’s a lot more pain to come.