U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Rebound Modestly From Five-Month Low

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest rebound by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 2nd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims crept up to 221,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 218,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 221,000 from the 216,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The uptick came a week after jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average fell to 227,250, a decrease of 9,750 from the previous week's revised average of 237,000.

"Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits remain low as the biggest issue for the job market isn't firing but weaker hiring," said Ryan Sweet, Chief US Economist at Oxford Economics. "For the first time in three weeks, initial claims remained below our estimate of the break-even level, or that consistent with no monthly job growth."

He added, "Initial claims don't alter our assessment of the balance of risks to the labor market, which remain tilted toward weaker hiring than a sudden rise in layoffs."

The Labor Department also said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing employment assistance, climbed by 39,000 to 1.892 million, reaching the highest level since November 2021.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also reached a nearly three-year high, rising by 8,500 to 1,875,500.

"Continuing claims have been edging higher, consistent with other signs that hiring has slowed," said Sweet. "Continuing claims might still be feeling the lingering effects of Hurricane Milton."

Last Friday, the Labor Department released a report showing employment in the U.S. edged only slightly higher in the month of October.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment crept up by 12,000 jobs in October compared to economist estimates for the addition of 113,000 jobs.

The report also showed a modest downward revision to job growth in September as well as a more significant downward revision to job growth in August.

Employment in September shot up by 223,000 jobs compared to the previously reported surge of 254,000 jobs, while employment in August rose by 78,000 jobs compared to the previously reported jump of 159,000 jobs.

With the downward revisions, employment in August and September increased by 112,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.

Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate came in at 4.1 percent in October, unchanged from September and in line with economist estimates.