Jobless Claims Fall Toward 57-Year Low

The historic stretch of low layoffs in the U.S. economy continued last week.

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 194,000 in the week ended Oct. 17, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

The reading came in below the consensus forecast of 200,000. The prior week’s level was revised up by 1,000 to 200,000.

Initial claims are a proxy for layoffs. The latest figure was the lowest since July, when claims fell to 189,000 — the lowest single weekly reading since 1969.

Claims have remained low for most of this year. The January–October average is the lowest for the first ten months of any year since 1969, when the U.S. workforce was roughly half the size it is today.

Continuing claims rose by 25,000 to 1.73 million in the previous week, a six-week high.

Because claims can be volatile, economists often look to the four-week moving average of new applications for a clearer signal about the underlying strength of the labor market. That average declined last week to 197,750, the lowest since 2022 and essentially tied for the lowest level of the modern era.

The three-month average of claims, another measure used to smooth out volatility, now stands at 201,700. That is the lowest three-month average since December 1969.