US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fall

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting that job growth likely rebounded in November after last month’s sharp slowdown amid hurricanes and strikes.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 213,000 in the week ended Nov. 16, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Reuters estimated 220,000 applications for the last week.

The data includes the Veterans Day holiday, which could have injected some volatility. Although claims increased in early October due to disruptions caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as strikes by workers at Boeing and another aerospace company, layoffs have remained low.

This softens the impact of slow hiring on the labor market.

The claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed businesses for the nonfarm payrolls component of the November employment report.

Government data on Tuesday confirmed that Helene, Milton and the aerospace strikes had been responsible for much of the sharp slowdown in job growth in October. The state employment and unemployment report also showed a continued slowdown in the labor market.

Economists estimate that the strikes and storms probably shaved between 100,000 and 125,000 jobs off payrolls last month.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 12,000 jobs in October, the smallest increase since December 2020, after increasing by 223,000 in September.

The Boeing strike ended this month after workers agreed to a new contract, while reconstruction is underway in areas devastated by the hurricanes. This creates a base of at least 100,000 jobs for November payrolls.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, rose by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.908 million during the week ending Nov. 9, according to the claims report.

The so-called continuing claims have been boosted by layoffs related to Boeing and the hurricanes.

The November jobs report could determine whether the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates again in December, after data suggested progress in reducing inflation to its 2% target had stalled in recent months. .

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