Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Stock

US weekly jobless claims increase moderately

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, suggesting no material change in labor market conditions and reinforcing views that hurricanes and strikes had resulted in job growth almost stalling in October.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week ended Nov. 2, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 221,000 claims for the latest week.

Employment growth slowed sharply last month, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by only 12,000 jobs, the fewest since December 2020. That aligned with a jump in claims in early October as Hurricane Helene disrupted economic activity in the U.S. Southeast region. Applications stayed elevated through the middle of last month after Hurricane Milton lashed Florida.

A strike by factory workers at Boeing (NYSE:BA), which forced the planemaker to implement rolling furloughs, also weighed on payrolls in October. The disruptions from the hurricanes have almost faded and the striking workers have gone back to work after agreeing to a new contract this week, paving the way for an acceleration in job growth in November.

Economists expect Federal Reserve officials won’t place much emphasis on October’s employment report as they evaluate the state of the economy. The U.S. central bank later on Thursday is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate again, this time by a quarter of a percentage point to the 4.50%-4.75% range.

The Fed embarked on its policy easing cycle with an unusually large half-percentage-point rate cut in September, the first reduction in borrowing costs since 2020. It hiked rates by 525 basis points in 2022 and 2023 to curb high inflation.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, rose 39,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.892 million during the week ending Oct. 26, the claims report showed. The Boeing-related furloughs are mostly keeping the so-called continuing claims elevated.

This post appeared first on investing.com

Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News And Articles.






    Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

    You May Also Like

    Editor's Pick

    Former president Donald Trump and his allies have filed hundreds of lawsuits, with more to come, seeking to tighten voting rules or disqualify voters....

    Economy

    LONDON (Reuters) – Bank of England interest rate-setter Megan Greene said she still believed the central bank should take a cautious approach to cutting...

    Editor's Pick

    Sister Stephanie Schmidt had a hunch about what her fellow nuns would discuss over dinner at their Erie, Pennsylvania, monastery on Wednesday night. The...

    Latest News

    Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday its streaming platform Max added 7.2 million global subscribers in the third quarter. It marked the biggest quarterly growth for...

    Disclaimer: beneficialinvestmentnow.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.


    Copyright © 2024 beneficialinvestmentnow.com