May 2, 2024 – 6:58 AM PDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits held steady at a low level last week, pointing to a still fairly tight labor market that should continue to underpin the economy in the second quarter.
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Economists largely shrugged off other data from the Labor Department on Thursday showing growth in worker productivity almost stalled in the first quarter, noting that the trend in productivity remained solid. They also argued that there was a seasonal quirk, which tended to bias gross domestic product and productivity lower in the first quarter.
At face value, the sharp slowdown in productivity and accompanying surge in labor costs would raise concerns about inflation pressures building up as well as profit margins being squeezed, which would impact demand for labor.
“We…
