US Unemployment Claims at 216,000... Lowest in 5 Months

Continued Unemployment Claims Also Expected to Fall Short
Hurricane Damage Recovery

Last week, the number of new unemployment claims in the United States fell to the lowest level since May. It appears that the labor market is recovering from the impacts of Hurricanes Hilary and Milton.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor on the 31st (local time), the number of new unemployment claims for the week of October 20-26 was recorded at 216,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the revised figure of the previous week. This also fell short of experts' expectations of 229,000 by 13,000.

The number of continuing unemployment claims, which counts those claiming benefits for at least two weeks, was 1,862,000 for the week of October 13-19. This is below both the revised figure of 1,888,000 from the previous week and the market forecast of 1,890,000.

Recently, continuing unemployment claims reached their highest level in three years during the week of October 6-12 due to two hurricanes and a Boeing workers' strike. The increase in both new and continuing unemployment claims announced on this day is interpreted as a sign that the labor market is gradually recovering from hurricane damage.

With the Federal Reserve (Fed) having started to cut interest rates last month and shifting the focus of monetary policy from price stability to full employment, Wall Street is closely watching the labor market. More accurate employment trends are expected to be confirmed in the U.S. Department of Labor's October employment report, which will be released the following day.