EmailThe initial claims level declined from an upwardly revised 409,000 (from 404,000) for the week ending October 8 to 403,000 for the week ending October 15. That was exactly what the Briefing.com consensus expected.
There were no special factors affecting the claims data.
For the past four weeks, the initial claims level has remained below the upper bound (410,000) of our "Recovery Zone." At this level, nonfarm payroll growth in excess of the 100,000 needed to support normal labor force growth is expected.
The continuing claims level increased from an upwardly revised 3.694 million (from 3.670 million) for the week ending October 1 to 3.719 million for the week ending October 8. The consensus expected the continuing claims level to fall to 3.690 million.
