Announced this morning, Initial Jobless Claims were 719,000 for the week ending March 27th, more than the 675k expected and Continuing Claims were 3,794,000 for the week ending March 20th, also higher than expectations. Both figures highlight the difficulties still present in the labor market as a result of the pandemic, especially considering a 300k level has been typical in a healthy economy. As we head into tomorrow’s jobs report, even with vaccine distribution continuing in the U.S. at a faster pace than other countries and additional fiscal spending this year, it is likely to take additional time for jobs to return to pre-pandemic levels. In all, bond yields ticked lower following this morning’s data and equity futures are higher as we head into the market open.
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