US stocks hovered near record highs Thursday morning as investors weighed a stagnating labor market rebound and dovish tone from the Federal Reserve.
New jobless claims reached an unadjusted 793,000 for the week that ended Saturday, the Labor Department said. That missed economist estimates the foresaw filings totaling 760,000, but was a five-week low.
The Fed said US unemployment is actually about 10% – nearly double the official rate and matching the worst of the Great Recession. Fed chair Jay Powell said a “a society-wide commitment” was needed to reach full employment.
