Publications
Partners
US filings for unemployment benefits held near an almost five-decade low, indicating a robust job market, Labour Department figures showed on Thursday.
Jobless claims decreased by 1 000 to 214 000 in the week ended November 3, in line with the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists, from an upwardly revised reading the prior week.
The four-week average of initial claims, a less-volatile measure, declined to 213 750.
Key insights
The data show the labour market remains tight as companies compete for workers amid the lowest unemployment in decades.
The prior week’s claims were revised to 215 000 from 214 000.
Continuing claims, which are reported with a one-week lag, fell by 8 000 to 1.62 million in the week ended October 27. That was the lowest since July 1973.
The share of Americans in the labour force claiming unemployment benefits held at 1.1%; that compares with a jobless rate of 3.7%.
Florida and Georgia claims were affected by Hurricane Michael while North Carolina was impacted by Hurricane Florence.
* Sign up to Fin24's top news in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TO FIN24 NEWSLETTER
