Initial Jobless Claims Continue To Signal No Labor Market Stress

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time dipped last week to 215k (218k exp), continuing to show labor market resilience in the face of slumping sentiment.

…basically unchanged in five years.

Continuing claims ticked higher but remains well off cycle highs from last fall…

So once again, claims data shows no signs of the pain that sentiment surveys suggest…

…even though payrolls data suggests deterioration.