Unexpectedly, first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. dipped in the week ending October 12th, as reported by the Labor Department on Thursday.
According to the report, initial jobless claims decreased to 241,000, marking a drop of 19,000 from the revised figure of 260,000 from the week prior.
Economists had anticipated a slight rise in jobless claims to 260,000, up from the originally reported 258,000 for the previous week.
The decline in claims comes after they reached their highest point since the 261,000 recorded in the week ending June 17, 2023.
Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics, remarked, “Initial jobless claims saw a significant drop in the week ending October 12, yet they are still influenced by claims in states affected by recent hurricanes and the Boeing strike.”
She further noted, “When looking beyond these influences, we believe the claims data reflects a labor market that has cooled without collapsing, permitting the Fed to continue with rate cuts at a measured pace.”
In addition, the Labor Department reported that the four-week moving average, which is less volatile, rose to 236,250, an increase of 4,750 from the revised average of 231,500 from the prior week.
The report also indicated that continuing claims, which tracks the number of individuals receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, increased by 9,000 to 1.867 million for the week ending October 5th.
Similarly, the four-week moving average of continuing claims saw an uptick to 1,842,750, rising by 11,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,831,250.
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