Jobless Claims Decline by 10,000 as California Clears Backlog

Jobless claims declined by 10,000 for the week ended Oct. 26 as backlogs in California cleared after a switch in computer systems, Bloomberg News reported.

Americans filed 340,000 claims for unemployment benefits last week from a revised 350,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department reported Oct. 31. The average forecast from economists surveyed by Bloomberg was a decrease to 338,000 weekly claims.

“Hiring has lagged in this recovery,” Jonathan Basile director of U.S. economics at Credit Suisse Holdings told Bloomberg. “What hiring we’ve had hasn’t been fast enough to generate higher wage pressures.”

The four-week moving average of jobless claims, a less volatile measure, increased to 356,250 last week from 348,250.