US Initial Jobless Claims Last Week at 241,000... Below Expectations

The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 17th (local time) that the number of new unemployment insurance claims last week (October 6?12) increased by 19,000 to 241,000 compared to the previous week.

Wall Street, New York, USA.
Photo by AP Yonhap News

This figure is below the expert forecast of 260,000 compiled by Dow Jones.

The number of continuing unemployment insurance claims, filed by those claiming benefits for two weeks or more, was recorded at 1,867,000 for the week of September 29 to October 5, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week.

Amid growing concerns that the U.S. economy may be cooling rapidly, Wall Street is closely monitoring trends in the U.S. labor market.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to proceed cautiously with additional interest rate cuts to fully extinguish inflationary pressures. Previously released data showed that nonfarm payrolls in the U.S. increased by 254,000 in September compared to the prior month, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 4.1% from 4.2% in the previous month.