The number of applicants for U.S. unemployment benefits has declined to a record low in almost two years last week, implying tightening in the labor market. Claims have reached less than 300,000 for 109 consecutive weeks which indicates a good condition of the labor market and it is close to full employment. Another survey by Reuters the nonfarm payrolls exhibited a rise in jobs as high as 180,000 in March following an increment of 235,000 in February while U.S. private payrolls surged by 263,000 jobs in March. This supported the reports of claim as it demonstrated that aid received by people decreased as much as 24,000 to 2.03 million until March 25 as reported in claims data on Thursday. The 4-week MA showed a drop in by 7,750 to 2.02 million average reaching the lowest level over the past 16 years.
