US jobless claims rose 10,000 to 277,000 in the week ending Sept. 26, but the number of people on continuing unemployment benefit claims, drawn from more than a week, declined by 53,000 to 2,199,000 in the week ending Sept. 19.
According to the report from department of labor, that is the lowest since Nov. 2000, and shows overall steady job creation and suggest labor market health remains intact.
“This latest figure was a little worse than expectations, but the trend in the data still is sending a favorable signal regarding conditions in the labor market,” said J.P. Morgan economist Daniel Silver.
Meanwhile, manufacturing activities decreased to 50.2 from 51.1 that was recorded in the previous month, according to Institute for Supply Management (ISM) this is the weakest manufacturing data since May 2013.
Manufacturing is still on the downside due to slow export and global growth. The consumer spending and personal income data released last month shows that increase in salaries and cheaper gasoline has fueled the recent surge in consumer confidence index and offset the gap created by slow manufacturing sector.
