Jobless claims fell for the fifth week in a row, according go the latest data from the Department of Labor for the week ending October 30th…(DOL)
- Initial claims fell to 269,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020.
- The 4-week moving average was 284,750, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised average.
Continuing also saw a decline for the week ending October 23rd…
- Continuing claims fell to 2,105,000, a decrease of 134,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since March 14, 2020.
- The 4-week moving average was 2,356,750, a decrease of 155,500 from the previous week’s revised average.
Looking at state level data, Missouri led the way on initial claims with a drop of 3,017 claims week-over-week followed by Florida (-2,830), Oklahoma (-1,681), Virginia (-1,386), and District of Columbia (-1,207)
- The decline in continuing claims got a of help from Illinois who reported a drop of 28,426 followed by Pennsylvania (-11,854) and Virginia (-11,854).
Five weeks of declines of both initial and continuing claims along with a strong ADP report I think has many economists optimistic about Friday’s jobs report.
