US Unemployment Claims at 217,000... Lowest in 6 Months

Last Week's Unemployment Claims 'Below Expectations'
Continuing Claims Also Below Forecast at 1.873 Million Cases

Last week, the number of new unemployment benefit claims in the United States decreased compared to the previous week, marking the lowest level in six months.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor on the 14th (local time), the number of new unemployment benefit claims for the week of November 3-9 was recorded at 217,000, down 4,000 from the revised figure of the previous week. This is the lowest level since May. The expert forecast (224,000) was also 7,000 higher than the actual number.

The number of continuing unemployment benefit claims, which are claims filed for at least two weeks, was 1,873,000 for the week of October 27 to November 2. Both the revised figure of the previous week (1,884,000) and the market forecast (1,880,000) were exceeded.

As the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) began cutting interest rates last month and shifted the focus of monetary policy from price stability to full employment, Wall Street is closely watching the labor market. It is analyzed that the volatility in unemployment benefit claims has intensified as the labor market recovers from two hurricane damages and the Boeing workers' strike, which lasted for weeks, has ended. In recent weeks, unemployment benefit claims had increased due to the impact of hurricane damages and the Boeing strike.

Since the Fed initiated a monetary easing cycle in September and shifted the focus of monetary policy from price stability to full employment, Wall Street has been monitoring the labor market. The Fed cut interest rates by 0.5 percentage points in September and 0.25 percentage points in November, and it is expected to lower rates by another 0.25 percentage points in December.