US Unemployment Claims at 213,000... Lowest in 7 Months

Last Week's Unemployment Claims 'Below Expectations'
Continuing Claims at 1.9 Million... Highest in 3 Years

Last week, the number of new unemployment benefit claims in the United States fell to the lowest level in seven months.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor on the 21st (local time), the number of new unemployment benefit claims for the week of November 10-16 was recorded at 213,000, down 6,000 from the revised figure of the previous week. This is the lowest level since April. The expert forecast (220,000) was also 7,000 lower.

The number of continuing unemployment benefit claims, which are claims filed for at least two weeks, reached 1,900,800 for the week of November 3-9, marking the highest level in three years. This exceeded both the revised figure of the previous week (1,872,000) and the market forecast (1,870,000). It is analyzed that the impact of the Boeing strike remains.

Since the Federal Reserve (Fed) initiated a monetary easing cycle in September, shifting the focus of monetary policy from price stability to full employment, Wall Street has been closely watching the labor market. Economists expect the number of unemployment benefit claims to stabilize at the current level in the short term. Although some companies have recently announced layoffs, there are hardly any signs of a general increase in dismissals.