close
close

Le-verdict

News with a Local Lens

    • U.S. weekly jobless claims fall after Hurricane Helene and Milton
    minsta

    U.S. weekly jobless claims fall after Hurricane Helene and Milton

    Pabio Posted on

    Lucie Mutikani
    | Reuters

    play

    WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week as distortions from hurricanes faded.

    Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 for the week ended Oct. 26, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims for last week.

    Losses increased early this month when Hurricane Helene disrupted economic activity in the Southeast and remained elevated until mid-month after Hurricane Milton hit Florida. Complaint filings were also boosted by the Boeing BA.N factory workers’ strike, which forced the planemaker to implement rolling furloughs.

    The strike had a negative impact on Boeing’s suppliers.

    The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, fell by 26,000 to 1.862 million seasonally adjusted in the week ending Oct. 19, the report said.

    Despite the hurricanes and the volatility of strikes, the labor market situation has probably not changed much.

    A report released Thursday by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows that planned layoffs by U.S.-based employers fell 23.7% to 55,597 in October.

    Storms and labor unrest, however, likely dampened employment growth in October. The Labor Department reported last week that there were 41,400 workers on strike during the period employers were surveyed for the October jobs report, including at Boeing and three hotel chains.

    Economists estimate that the drop in wages for Helen and Milton could be as much as 70,000 people.

    A Reuters survey shows nonfarm job creation likely increased by 113,000 this month, following a rise of 254,000 in September. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.1%.

    The Labor Department is expected to release the October jobs report on Friday. Economists expect Federal Reserve officials will likely dismiss the jobs report at their meeting next week and cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

    The U.S. central bank kicked off its policy easing cycle last month with an unusually large cut in interest rates of half a percentage point, the first reduction in borrowing costs since 2020. The key rate of the Fed is now fixed in the range of 4.75% to 5.00%. having been increased by 525 basis points in 2022 and 2023.

    Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Dan Burns

    LEAVE A RESPONSE

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Pabio
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like