Initial jobless claims for the week ending May 13 decreased by 22,000 to 242,000 (consensus 259,000) while continuing jobless claims for the week ending May 6 decreased by 8,000 to 1.799 million.
The key takeaway from the report is that initial claims are at levels that are much closer to signaling tightness in the labor market, which means the Fed is apt to stick to its tighter policy for longer.
Treasury yields turned higher in response to the data.
The 2-yr note yield is up seven basis points to 4.23% and the 10-yr note yield is up five basis points to 3.62%.