In the week ending October 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 751,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 7,000 from 751,000 to 758,000. The 4-week moving average was 787,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 3,250 from 787,750 to 791,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 5.0 percent for the week ending October 24, a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for ... (full story)

First-time claims for unemployment insurance continued a modest trend down last week, though the total remains well above what was considered normal prior to the coronavirus pandemic and was a touch higher than Wall Street estimates. The Labor Department reported Thursday that 751,000 U.S. workers file for benefits, compared to 758,000 from the week before. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 741,000. This was the third straight week that claims were below 800,000. The numbers come a day before the government’s official nonfarm payrolls report, which is expected to show a gain of 530,000 in October. ... (full story)