Initial jobless claims for the week ending February 18 declined by 3,000 to 192,000 (consensus 200,000). Continuing jobless claims for the week ending February 11 decreased by 37,000 to 1.654 million.
The key takeaway from the report is it covers the period in which the survey for the February employment report was taken. The remarkably low level of initial claims will contribute to expectations for another strong gain in nonfarm payrolls and the Fed sticking to its tightening ways.