Jobless Claims at Lowest Level in Seven Months

The fewest Americans in seven months filed first time jobless claims in the week ending Nov. 12, a sign that the labor market might finally be getting some traction. The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial dropped 5,000 to claims 388,000, the Labor Department announced. The four-week moving average, a less volatile number that flattens out week-to-week fluctuations in the data, was 396,750, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 400,750, and the first time since April that the four-week average fell below 400,000. Economists peg 375,000 as the benchmark for significant job growth. The number of Americans filing for continuing unemployment claims during the week ending Nov. 5 was 3,608,000, a decrease of 57,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 3,702,750. The four-week moving average was 3,670,000, a decrease of 32,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,702,750. States reported 2,935,466 persons claiming emergency unemployment benefits for the week ending October 29, a decrease of 18,358 from the prior week. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending October 29 was 6,773,326, a decrease of 62,278 from the previous week. The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending November 5 were in Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. The largest decreases were in Arizona, District of Columbia, Florida, Oregon, and Puerto Rico.