US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending October 3

On Thursday, the US Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 197,000 for the week ending Saturday, October 3, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 199,000 (originally 197,000). The four-week moving average was 198,000—a decrease of 2,500 from the prior week’s revised average of 200,500 (originally 200,000).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 26 was 1,716,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,699,000 (originally 1,701,000). The four-week moving average was 1,711,000—a decrease of 12,250 from the prior week’s revised average of 1,723,250 (originally 1,723,750).

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1% for the week ending September 26, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.