AFP
New filings for unemployment benefits dropped for the first time in three weeks, signaling that the U.S. labor market remains strong despite interest rates at a two-decade high.
Initial jobless claims for the week ended Nov. 4 fell to a seasonally adjusted 217,000 from a revised 220,000 in the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number was slightly above the estimate of 218,000 in a Reuters survey of economists.
The four-week moving average rose to 212,250 from 210,750, the highest level in almost two months.
Last week, another Labor Department report showed that the U.S. economy sharply reduced the pace of job creation in October and the unemployment rate rose to the highest level in almost two years.
Non-farm payrolls gained 150,000 jobs in October from 297,000 in September, while the unemployment rate increased to 3.9% from 3.8%.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at the highest level in 22 years on Nov. 1. In the statement that announced the decision, the U.S. central bank said that “job gains have moderated since earlier in the year but remain strong, and the unemployment rate has remained low.”
