U.S. Weekly Jobless Show Another Slight Drop To 214,000
November 08 2018 - 4:01AM
RTTF2
First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits showed a slight
decrease in the week ended November 3rd, according to a report
released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 214,000, a
decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of
215,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 213,000 from
the 214,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving
average also slipped to 213,750, a decrease of 250 from the
previous week's revised average of 214,000.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving
ongoing unemployment assistance, also fell by 8,000 to 1.623
million in the week ended October 27th.
With the continued decrease, continuing claims fell to their
lowest level since hitting 1.603 million in July of 1973.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims also dropped
to a 45-year low of 1,633,250, a decrease of 7,500 from the
previous week's unrevised average of 1,640,750.
Last Friday, the Labor Department released a separate report
showing stronger than expected job growth in the month of
October.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged up
by 250,000 jobs in October after rising by a downwardly revised
118,000 jobs in September. Economists had expected an increase of
about 190,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate in October was
unchanged from the previous month at 3.7 percent, its lowest level
since hitting 3.5 percent in December of 1969.
Average hourly employee earnings rose by $0.05 to $27.30 in
October, reflecting a 3.1 percent increase compared to the same
month a year ago.
The annual rate of hourly earnings growth accelerated from 2.8
percent in September, reaching the fastest pace since April of
2009.
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