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Weekly US jobless claims fall after Hurricane Helene, Milton

Online Niel November 1, 2024

Lucia Mutikani
| Reuters

WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new jobless claims fell last week as disruptions from hurricanes faded.

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

Claims rose earlier in the month as Hurricane Helene disrupted economic activity in the Southeast and remained elevated until mid-month after Hurricane Milton hit Florida. Warehouses were also boosted by striking factory workers at Boeing BA.N, forcing the planemaker to implement furloughs.

The strike adversely affected Boeing suppliers.

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

Because of the hurricanes and the volatility of the strikes, the job market picture probably hasn’t changed much.

A report from global investment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday showed that planned layoffs by US employers fell 23.7% to 55,597 in October.

However, storms and labor disputes likely restrained job 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 employment report, including at Boeing and three hotel chains.

Economists estimate the drop in wages from Helene and Milton could be as much as 70,000.

A Reuters poll showed nonfarm payrolls likely rose by 113,000 jobs this month after rising 254,000 in September. The unemployment rate is forecast unchanged at 4.1%.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release its October employment report on Friday. Economists expect Federal Reserve officials are likely to reject the jobs report when they meet next week and cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

The US central bank kicked off its policy easing cycle last month with an unusually large interest rate cut of half a percentage point, the first reduction in borrowing costs since 2020. The Fed’s policy rate is now set in a range of 4, 75%-5.00%, were increased by 525 basis points in 2022 and 2023.

Report by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Dan Burns