while unemployment rolls continued to shrink, pointing to rapidly diminishing labor market slack that will keep boosting wage inflation. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 187,000 for the week ended March 19, the lowest level since September 1969. Economists had forecast 212,000 applications for the latest week.

Last week's drop in claims was widespread, with large decreases in California, Michigan, Kentucky and Illinois. U.S. businesses are not laying off workers because they know the enormous challenges they're facing in filling open positions.

The strength in the job market reported by the Labor Department on Thursday may push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by half a percentage point at its next policy meeting in May. Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Monday said the U.S. central bank must move "expeditiously" to raise rates and possibly "more aggressively" to keep high inflation from becoming entrenched.