Jobless Claims Fall, Insured Unemployment Lowest Since August 1973

The Labor Department reported initial jobless claims fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the week ending October 13, easily beating the forecast. Economists expected a range from 210,000 to 217,000, with the consensus being 215,000.

No state was triggered “on” the Extended Benefits program during the week ending September 29. The weekly jobless claims report is the first since Hurricane Michael made landfall at the Florida Panhandle and Big Ben, making a path across the Southeastern Atlantic.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at a very low 1.2% for the week ending October 6. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 6 was 1,640,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since August 4, 1973 when it was 1,633,000. The previous week’s level was revised down by 7,000 from 1,660,000 to 1,653,000.

The 4-week moving average was 1,653,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week’s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since August 18, 1973 when it was 1,646,750. The previous week’s average was revised down by 1,750 from 1,656,000 to 1,654,250.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending September 29 were in New Jersey (1.9), Alaska (1.8), California (1.6), Connecticut (1.6), Puerto Rico (1.6), Pennsylvania (1.4), the District of Columbia (1.3), and Nevada (1.3).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 6 were in Kentucky (+6,260), California (+4,612), North Carolina (+3,992), Michigan (+2,329), and New York (+1,726), while the largest decreases were in South Carolina (-1,714), New Hampshire (-65), West Virginia (-37), Mississippi (-36), and Maryland (-19).