- Initial claims (seasonally adjusted): 194,000 for the week ending Oct 17. Prior week revised up to 200,000 from 199,000. Four-week moving average: 197,750. Unadjusted claims: 172,390, down 19,321 (10.1%) from the week before.
- Insured unemployment rose 25,000 to 1,728,000 for the week ending Oct 10, from a revised 1,703,000. Its four-week average was 1,711,000. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1%.
- Largest state increases in initial claims for the week ending Oct 10: Ohio (+3,918), Tennessee (+3,477), Pennsylvania (+1,954), California (+1,758) and Texas (+1,721). Claims by federal employees were 544, up 81 from the week before.
- Weekly claims under 200,000 are low by historical standards, so layoffs are not widespread. Rising continuing claims fit a market where employers are cutting little but hiring slowly. The Labor Department publishes a new report each Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
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