(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended November 9th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 217,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 221,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 223,000.
The unexpected decline pulled jobless claims down to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.
"Our base case is for claims to remain in recent ranges, which we view as consistent with a resilient labor market," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.
She added, "However, starting with the next week's report, seasonal factors related to holidays and seasonal layoffs may make the headline figures noisier than usual for several weeks."
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to 221,000, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 227,250.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also fell by 11,000 to 1.873 million in the week ended November 2nd.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of continuing claims, crept up by 1,000 to 1,874,500, reaching the highest level since November 2021.
"Despite the decline in initial claims, continued claims may remain elevated for longer as it may take time for some of those who suffered job losses related to the hurricanes or the Boeing strike to return to work or find new jobs," said Vanden Houten.
