Trumponomics? US Unemployment Claims At 49-Year Low, GDP Growth At 4.2 Per Cent And Near Full Employment

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to its lowest level in 49 years last week, Reuters has reported. Private payrolls also gained steadily in August, indicating a sustained labour-market strength that is expected to support US's impressive economic growth.

According to the data released by the US Labour Department on Thursday, the seasonally adjusted initial claims filed in the week ending first of September fell to a historic 49 year low of 203,000, which is 10,000 down from the previous week. The last time the number of weekly jobless claims plunged this low was December 1969, when only 202,000 filed for unemployment benefits.

US labour market is now considered near full employment as job openings began to outstrip job seekers in March. A record 6.7 million job openings were reported in April this year. The number of openings has never exceeded the number of job seekers since the government started keeping statistics on both in 2000. However, the wages have largely remained stagnant, confounding economists who continue to expect that their growth will pick up.

The US economy also registered an impressive 4.2 per cent rate in the second quarter of 2018, easily the fastest growth in four years. The Federal Reserve intervened twice to hike interest rates this year and is considering doing it again in response to the strong economic growth.