Data released by the U.S. Labor Department today, Thursday, showed a significant decrease in the number of U.S. unemployment claims this week and for the eighth consecutive week, better than market expectations, as the number of new U.S. unemployment claims reached about 213,000 new claims, which is lower than the expectations that indicated a registration of 220,000 claims, but higher than the previous reading of 208,000 claims last week.

This indicator measures the change in the number of applicants for U.S. unemployment benefits for the first time during the previous week, and its data is compiled and announced weekly. The initial reading of this statement has a strong impact on financial markets, unlike continuing unemployment claims data, which measures the number of people benefiting from unemployment benefits.

Investors can, by monitoring U.S. unemployment claims data, form a view on the job market. In the case of wage inflation, the likelihood of raising interest rates increases, along with a decline in stock and bond prices. Therefore, it is important to know that a decline in unemployment claims means a strong labor market and vice versa.