Employers have retained workers amidst a solid demand domestically, one reason why the claims have hovered near low of historical levels even as the markets overseas languish.
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“This latest figure was a little worse than expectations, but the trend in the data still is sending a favorable signal regarding conditions in the labor market“, said J.P. Morgan economist Daniel Silver.
Challenger’s job cuts report ought to make economists question the true accuracy of these record-lows in jobless claims.
As we usually see, the Labor Department said that no special factors had an impact on this week’s initial claims.
The figures, released on Thursday by the Department of Labor, continued to paint a positive picture of the overall USA economy, and Barclays economist Jesse Hurwitz noted that the total number of continuing unemployment benefits – claims drawn for more than a week – fell to the lowest level since November 2000, coming in at 2,191,000 for the week that ended September 19.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits for more than six months in the week ending September 19 decreased by 53,000 to 2.19 million.
Economists say the low level of applications indicate that companies feel the economy will continue to improve, which could boost hiring.
Claims for the prior week were unrevised.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, dropped 1,000 to 270,750. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits declined to 1.6 percent, the lowest since mid July.
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Data from the Labor Department on Friday night show that payrolls added 200,000 new jobs during September following a gain in August of 173,000.
