U.S. unemployment claims have remained below 300,000 for the past 104 weeks, signalling a near 44-year low. Due to the strong labor market, several officials at the Fed have suggested raising March interest rates to decrease the chance of the jobs market "overheating". The last rate increase happened in December of 2016, and the Fed is predicting that three rate increases will occur during 2017. The strong labor market, with a current unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, has resulted in increasing labor shortages throughout the country.
See "U.S. jobless claims near 44-year low; rate hike expected this month", Lucia Mutikani, Reuters, March 2, 2017