US jobless claims came in below expectations for the week ending December 27. Jefferies’ chief US economist Thomas Simons shared his insights on this data with Yahoo Finance.
Simons notes that there’s a disconnect between labor demand and weekly jobless claims. He cautions against relying solely on unemployment statistics to predict employment trends, as businesses may be reluctant to lay off workers due to concerns about future talent acquisition.
However, Simons sees potential for change. Small businesses, typically those with fewer than 50 employees, have been the main drivers of job growth in recent years. With these businesses facing significant challenges in the past couple of years, Simons believes their labor metrics could become more important to monitor.
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/jobless-claims-why-small-business-173020309.html