The
data from the Labor Department showed on Thursday the number of applications
for unemployment unexpectedly decreased last week, hitting its lowest level
since March 2020.
According
to the report, the initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 290,000
for the week ended October 16. This was the lowest reading since mid-March of
2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Economists
had expected 300,000 new claims last week.
Claims for the prior week
were revised upwardly to 296,000 from the initial estimate of 293,000.
Meanwhile,
the four-week moving average of jobless claims declined to 319,750 from an
upwardly revised 335,000 in the previous week.
As
for continuing claims, they dropped to 2,481,000 from an upwardly revised 2,603,000
in the previous week. This was the lowest figure since March 2020.