US Weekly Jobless Claims Better Than Anticipated, A Sign of Recovering Employment

The U.S. unemployment picture rebounded again last week, with initial filings for jobless claims dropping to another pandemic-era low.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor.

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First-time weekly claims dropped to 269,000 for the week ended Oct. 30, down 14,000 from the prior period and better than analyst’s estimate for 275,000.

The decrease in fillings comes amidst an end in special programs started during the crisis, with a total of people receiving benefits falling by 157,731 to 2.67 million.

As the jobs picture improves, the four-week moving average for claims dropped 15,000 to 284,750. Twelve months ago, the average was 791,000, and it was 225,500 in March before the pandemic.

Continuing claims dropped 134,000 to slightly over 2.1 million. All of the jobless totals fell to the lowest level since March 14, 2020.

Even though the recent claims reports dropped, the declining total signals a jobs market recovering from the pandemic but also facing various unique obstacles.