US Unemployment Claims in U.S. Increased Less Than Forecast

Applications for unemployment benefits in the US rose less than forecast in the week ended Aug 27.

The number of people filing for unemployment claims in the US rose by 2,000 to 263,000 last week, according to a report from the Labor Department on Thursday. This was below the median forecast of 265,000.

Employers across the country are hesitant to pare workforces as a tighter labor market puts premium on skilled and experienced employees.

With the unemployment rate at a 40-year low, a sustained and higher levels of hiring would boost the Federal Reserve chances of raising interest rates by the end of the year. This

Furthermore, if payrolls report came out better than expected tomorrow and unemployment rate remained at near record low of 4.8 percent, the odds of the fed raising rates will increase so will dollar strength. But the rebound in the dollar is expected to hurt the already weak oversea orders, which will weigh on trade balance and economic growth in the third quarter.

This will likely compel, the Fed to hold back this year –especially with low productivity and weak exports.