WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims fell 9,000 to 397,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Oct. 29, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Continuing claims fell to 3.683 million for the week ending Oct. 22.
The last time that initial claims were this low was the week ending Sept. 24, when they were 395,000. Continuing claims were last this low for the week ending April 16, when they were 3.659 million.
The initial claims figure was lower than the median estimates from economists polled by Thomson Reuters. They had expected 400,000 initial claims and 3.680 million continuing claims.
Initial claims for the week ending Oct. 22 were revised to 406,000. Continuing claims for the week ending Oct. 15 were revised to 3.698 million.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 404,500, after being revised to 406,500 for the previous week. The four-week moving average for continuing claims was 3.703 million, down from the preceding week's revised average of 3.714 million.
Department officials estimated claims for Connecticut, which were late because of the weekend snowstorm, and Oklahoma, which were late because of computer problems.
In actual unadjusted numbers, 10 states reported increased claims of more than 1,000, led by California with 7,176. Two reported decreases of more than 1,000, led by Florida, with 2,230.
