US: Jobless claims point to a healthy labor market - Nomura

Analysts at Nomura note that the US initial claims fell 1k to 232k for the week ending 14 April as they have been trending down since picking up by 24k to 242k in the last week of March.

Key Quotes

“The four-week moving average of initial claims reached 231k. Although currently higher than their average in March, we expect initial claims to gradually come down as incoming data point to a healthy labor market. Continuing claims fell 15k to 1863k for the week ending 7 April. As this reading of initial claims corresponds with the BLS survey week for nonfarm payroll employment growth, the subdued reading of 232k points to another solid month of employment gains.”