Jobless Claims Decline More Than Forecast in Week Ending Oct. 24

A help wanted sign is displayed outside a car wash in Indianapolis on Sept. 2. (Michael Conroy/Associated Press)

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Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell more than forecast last week, suggesting the labor market remains on the path of gradual improvement — while still far from its pre-pandemic health.

Initial jobless claims in regular state programs totaled 751,000 in the week ended Oct. 24, down 40,000 from the prior week, Labor Department data showed Oct. 29. On an unadjusted basis, the figure decreased by a little more than 28,000.

Continuing claims — the total pool of Americans on ongoing state unemployment benefits — decreased 709,000 to 7.76 million in the week ended Oct. 17. Continuing claims have fallen for five straight weeks. Still, the number of Americans on emergency assistance programs rose as many unemployed exhausted regular state benefits.

Economists called for 770,000 initial claims and 7.78 million continuing claims, according to the median estimates in Bloomberg surveys.

The figures, the last snapshot of the labor market ahead of the Nov. 3 election, underscore a further, yet gradual, recovery in the job market. Nonetheless, a renewed surge in coronavirus infections across the country and a deadlock over new fiscal stimulus threaten to limit further progress.

The decline in continuing claims coincided again with an increase in Americans on Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, a federal program that provides an additional 13 weeks of benefits. That figure rose by more than 387,000 to 3.68 million in the week ended Oct. 10.

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While weekly unemployment claims have improved significantly from April, they remain at more than three times their pre-crisis level.

Data has been volatile over the past month after California stopped accepting new jobless claims for two weeks and temporarily reported estimated numbers, inflating the national figures. Last week’s report showed revised data for California contributed to the drop in overall claims. The state also reported fewer claims in the most recent week.

Florida, Texas, Louisiana and North Carolina were among other states registering the biggest declines in the period ended Oct. 24. Claims jumped in Michigan, Virginia and Illinois.

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