According to Bloomberg, jobless claims in the U.S. fell last week to their lowest level since April 2006. But the cause is not a rapid uptick in hiring or a significant drop in unemployment.
Instead, computer system updates in two states caused two agencies to report fewer applications. The number of filings dropped by 31,000 to 292,000 in the week ending Sept. 7, lower than Bloomberg’s forecast for 330,000 applications.
“The job market is gradually healing,” Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. “It’s not booming and it won’t be booming for another six to nine months. I think the conditions are falling into place for much better job growth. It’s not layoffs that are the problem, it’s the lack of hiring.”
