For Democrats running on the economy for the 2018 midterm elections, claiming the “crumbs” that came with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act à la Nancy Pelosi have not helped blighted business and poverty-stricken citizens, get ready for a bit of a blunder. Jobless claims are in for last week and Americans receiving unemployment aid has dropped to the lowest number since March 1973.
In a report from CNBC, claims were numbered at 225,000 in the latest week polled, a less-then-expected number from economic analysts from the preceding week. Many point to tightening labor market conditions as companies have been on a hiring spree since the beginning of the year.
Claims did rise 2,000 from last week as the final week in April only saw 209,000 unemployment aid claims – the lowest recorded since December 1969.
The 17-year unemployment low is still steadily at 4.1 percent. Economists at the Federal Reserve reportedly show a forecast of 3.8 percent by the end of 2018, which is considered to be near “full employment.”
Even though many worried that interest rates would rise following two weeks of record low unemployment, the U.S. central bank left rates unchanged. According to the report, “policymakers expected ‘economic activity will expand at a moderate pace in the medium term and labor market conditions will remain strong.'”
The U.S. Labor Department cited better-than-average unemployment claims in Maine and Colorado as a mark of the strong numbers. They also report that claims-taking procedures in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands had still not returned to normal after the areas are still recovering from Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year.
April’s employment report is scheduled to be released Friday and economists say that non-farm payrolls likely increased last month by 192,000 jobs after a March increase of 103,000.
In all, the number of people receiving aid dropped 77,000 to 1.26 million after April 21. Continuing claims in the four-week average decreased by 15,500 to 1.83 million, all the lowest since the U.S. House of Representatives confirmed Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States during the Nixon Administration.
Crumbs? Yes, we’ll have some.
