US continuing claims hold at 1,710,000, matching forecasts
The reading matches both the prior week and economists' expectations, leaving the labor market picture largely unchanged.
Published
Chart: US continuing jobless claims
Continuing claims came in at 1.71 million for the latest week, matching the 1.709 million forecast and down slightly from a prior reading of 1.716 million.
The figure sits close to where continuing claims have been for weeks. In the release covering the week ended September 26, continuing claims rose by 17,000 to 1.716 million after dropping to a 3-1/2-year low the week before, Reuters reported, as carried by Gurutrade.
Initial claims, a separate measure, stood at 197,000 in the October 8 report, the lowest stretch since 1969.
Some economists have cautioned that the low level of continuing claims may not capture the full picture, since recent college graduates and others with limited work history often do not qualify for benefits and so do not show up in the count, Reuters reported, as carried by Gurutrade.
The latest continuing claims number extends a run of data that has shown no sign of deterioration, even as scrutiny builds over visa-based labor programs. With initial claims also near multi-decade lows as of the October 8 report, the release adds another point of stability rather than a new signal, leaving the Federal Reserve's case for easing on the labor side unchanged.