The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance fell last week. The government’s report on weekly jobless claims showed initial claims fell 29,000 to 469,000. In a separate report, the government said productivity in the final three months of last year surged at a faster pace than previously thought as labor cost fell more rapidly. The Labor Department said productivity rose at an annual rate of 6.9%, faster than the initial estimate of 6.2%. Unit labor costs fell by a rate of 5.9%, more than the 4.4% initially estimated.
Still to come, the government is due to issue monthly factory orders and the National Association of Realtors releases its pending home sales number for January. Factor orders are expected to have increased by 1.8% and pending home sales are forecast to have increased by 1%.
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