As the anticipated job claims figures were released, it showed an unpredicted drop the earlier week in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits, indicating that the labour market is still tight.

For the week that wrapped up pn April 20, the Labor Department stated on Thursday that the number of initial claims for state unemployment benefits had slid by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000.

According to a poll conducted by Reuters economists, projections for the previous week were 215,000 claims. This year, claims have been fluctuating between 194,000 and 225,000.

After having trouble recruiting workers during and following the COVID-19 outbreak, businesses are hoarding employees and privileging increased profit margins due to powerful pricing power.

Over two-thirds of economic activity is derived from consumer spending, which is sustained by low layoffs and high pay increases.

The claims report for the week closed on April 13 revealed that the number of recipients of benefits following an initial week of aid—a proxy for hiring—dropped by 15,000 to 1.781 million.