US jobless claims rise more than expected

Hurricane backlog clears

WASHINGTON, Nov 9, (Agencies): The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, suggesting that claims processing disrupted by recent hurricanes has begun to improve.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 239,000 for the week ended Nov 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims had fallen to 229,000 in the prior week, near a 44-1/2-year low, and remain well below the 300,000 level generally regarded as signaling a healthy labor market.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 231,000 in the latest week. They have declined from an almost three-year high of 298,000 hit at the start of September in the aftermath of hurricanes that ravaged parts of Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Labor Department noted that it is now processing backlogged claims in Puerto Rico though its operations in the Virgin Islands remain severely disrupted.

US Treasury yields held near session highs after the data, while the dollar trimmed losses. US stock index futures were slightly lower, a day after Wall Street closed at a record high.

Last week marked the 139th straight week that claims remained below the 300,000 threshold. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 1,250, to 231,250 last week, the lowest level since March 31, 1973. That suggests ongoing job growth in an economy many regard as near full employment, with the jobless rate at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent.

The so-called continuing claims rose 17,000 to 1.90 million. Economists polled by Reuters had expected continuing claims of 1.89 million.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell 750, to 1.90 million, the lowest level since Jan 12, 1974, suggesting a continued decline in labor market slack.

Last week, US unemployment fell to its lowest level in nearly 17 years in October, according to data released Friday, which President Donald Trump said was proof his policies were bearing fruit.

Job creation resumed climbing after two late-summer hurricanes hit the economy, albeit at a slower rate than expected, according to the Labor Department’s key monthly employment report.

But upward revisions to job creation in August and September meant the storms caused less damage than originally

feared, making for an upbeat report.

Still, the data also showed a shrinking labor force and confirmed job creation in 2017 has lagged behind the last year of the Obama adminstration.

The US jobless rate fell to 4.1 percent, down a tenth of a point from September, the lowest the US economy has seen since December 2000.

Employers added 261,000 net new positions as businesses reopened in the

wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, although economists had forecast a rebound of 300,000 new jobs.

But the data for September turned out not be as bad as initially reported, with 18,000 new jobs created, rather than a loss of 33,000 positions. Together with the upward revision for August, an additional 90,000 jobs were added for those two months.

The results generally showed US

labor markets in good health, easily bouncing back from the storms that idled the US energy hub in southeast Texas and forced millions of Floridians to flee their homes.

“With nearly 1.5 million new jobs since the president took office, including over 260,000 last month, it’s clear his agenda is putting Americans back to work,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.