U.S. Initial Jobless Claims at 194,000, Lowest in 3 Months

Continuing Claims Rose by 25,000

The number of initial U.S. jobless claims fell to its lowest level in three months. The data suggest that a “low-hire, low-fire” trend continues: job growth has slowed, but layoffs remain limited.

A worker stocks shelves at a supermarket in New York. New York, U.S. = Correspondent Hwang Yunju

The U.S. Department of Labor said on October 22 (local time) that initial jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 194,000 for the previous week (October 11-17), down 6,000 from the week before. The previous week’s figure was revised up to 200,000 from an initial estimate of 199,000.

Initial claims came in below the 200,000 forecast compiled by Dow Jones. This was the lowest level since mid-July. The four-week moving average of initial claims fell by 1,000 from the previous week to 197,750, its lowest level since 1969.

Continuing claims, filed by people who had received unemployment benefits for at least two weeks, totaled 1.728 million for the week of October 4-10, up 25,000 from the previous week. Continuing claims are reported one week later than initial claims.

The data point to a labor market with few layoffs, while also suggesting that unemployed people are taking time to find new jobs.

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