- Prior week initial claims 194K
- Prior week continuing claims 1.701M
Details
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Initial jobless claims (October 31) fell 6,000 to 189,000. Prior revised to 195,000 from 194,000.
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Initial claims four-week average fell 2,250 to 194,750. Prior revised to 197,000 from 196,750.
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Continuing claims (October 24) rose 23,000 to 1,718,000. Prior revised to 1,695,000 from 1,701,000.
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Continuing claims four-week average rose 1,000 to 1,709,500. Prior revised to 1,708,500 from 1,710,000.
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Insured unemployment rate (October 24) held at 1.1%.
U.S. initial jobless claims fell to 189,000 in the week ending October 31, the Labor Department reported. The four-week average also fell, pointing to fewer new filings even after smoothing out some of the weekly noise.
Continuing claims moved the other way, rising to 1.718 million in the week ending October 24. The four-week average edged up by just 1,000, so the rise was more pronounced in the weekly figure than in the recent trend.
Quick analysis
The drop in initial claims points to limited layoff pressure. On its own, that gives the Fed less reason to hurry toward a rate cut and can lend some support to the dollar and short-term Treasury yields. The rise in continuing claims tempers that signal because it can point to people taking longer to find work. The next few readings will show whether that rise is becoming a trend.
What this report measures
Initial claims count new filings for unemployment benefits and give traders an early read on layoffs. Continuing claims track ongoing filings and are reported with an extra week’s lag. Both headline figures are seasonally adjusted and subject to revision, and traders watch their four-week averages to gauge the labor-market trend.
This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.