Initial jobless claims data reviewed - Nomura

Analysts at Nomura reviewed the Initial jobless claims data.

Key Quotes:

"Initial jobless claims increased 12k to 272k for the week ending 23 September, largely reflecting the increase in Florida after Hurricane Irma. The four-week moving average for initial jobless claims now stands at 280k, well above the prehurricane average of 237k."

"However, we expect this spike to be transitory. Most of this increase can be attributed to states affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. For the week ending 16 September, continuing unemployment insurance claims decreased 45k to 1934k. 

Overall, while the effect from recent hurricanes has increased aggregate initial jobless claims, we believe the underlying pace of the labor market remains strong. Based on previous hurricanes, initial jobless claims could revert to their earlier average within a month."