Weekly Unemployment Claims (every Thursday)
The weekly unemployment update is expected to reveal 234,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week, up from the previous week’s 231,000. Rising claims is a sign of employment sector weakness, meaning the higher the number tomorrow, the better the news it is for rates. It is worth reminding that this is only a weekly snapshot and does not carry the importance that many of the monthly reports do. In other words, it will take a noticeable variance from forecasts to directly influence mortgage rates. Plus, the markets will be much more focused on Friday’s monthly Employment report.