PiCK
US Initial Jobless Claims at 194,000, Slightly Below Forecast
Summary
- The U.S. Labor Department said last week’s initial jobless claims totaled 194,000, or 4,000 below economists’ forecast of 198,000.
- It also said continuing jobless claims, which track people claiming benefits for a second straight week, totaled 1.701 million, below both the prior week’s revised figure and the market forecast.
- The department said initial jobless claims are an indicator that can help gauge overheating in the U.S. labor market.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
U.S. initial jobless claims came in below market expectations last week.
The Labor Department said on Oct. 29 that initial claims totaled 194,000 last week. That was 4,000 below economists’ forecast of 198,000 and 1,000 lower than the prior week’s revised figure of 195,000.
Continuing claims, which measure the number of people receiving unemployment benefits for a second consecutive week, totaled 1.701 million. That was 21,000 below the prior week’s revised 1.722 million and 19,000 lower than the market forecast of 1.72 million.
Initial jobless claims are a gauge of overheating in the U.S. labor market. An increase in claims can be interpreted as a sign that labor-market tightness is easing.
JOON HYOUNG LEE
gilson@bloomingbit.ioCrypto Journalist based in Seoul