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The Labor Department released a report on Thursday, revealing an unexpected slight decline in initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits for the week ending November 16th. According to the report, initial jobless claims dropped to 213,000, marking a reduction of 6,000 from the prior week's revised figure of 219,000.
Contrary to forecasts by economists, who anticipated an increase to 220,000 from the initially reported 217,000 for the previous week, this decline brought claims to their lowest level since 209,000 for the week ending April 27th.
"We are entering a period in which seasonal factors will introduce volatility into the data, so we should not place too much emphasis on a single week's fluctuation," commented Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics. She noted, "Nonetheless, after being inflated by the Boeing strike and Hurricanes Helene and Milton, jobless claims have returned to levels indicating limited layoffs."
The Labor Department also reported a decrease in the less volatile four-week moving average, which fell to 217,750, down by 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 221,500.
Conversely, the report indicated an increase in continuing claims—individuals still receiving unemployment assistance—which rose by 36,000 to 1.908 million for the week ending November 9th. This increase pushed continuing claims to their highest point since reaching 1.974 million in the week ending November 13, 2021.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims reached nearly a three-year high, edging up by 5,000 to 1,879,250.
"Continuing claims remain elevated in the state of Washington, likely due to the Boeing strike, yet we anticipate a decline in claims there in the coming weeks," said Vanden Houten. She further added, "Claims remain notably high in North Carolina, severely affected by Helene, as well as in Michigan and Ohio, where numerous autoworkers have been laid off. We may see a more gradual decrease in claims in these states."