US jobless claims plunge to lowest since 1969

Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits plunged last week to a level not seen since 1969, which if sustained would mark the next milestone in the labor market’s uneven recovery.

Initial unemployment claims in regular state programs fell by 71,000 to a seasonally adjusted 199,000 in the week ended Nov. 20, Labor Department data showed Wednesday.

The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 260,000 applications.

However, the larger-thanexpected drop may be explained by how the government adjusts the raw data for seasonal swings. Wrightson ICAP chief economist Lou Crandall pointed out in a recent note that seasonal factors were anticipating a smaller increase in unadjusted claims compared with the same time last year as the labor market was struggling to recover.

“This is purely a seasonal factor distortion. Much of it will reverse next week,” Crandall said after the release.

Before seasonal adjustments, last week’s initial jobless claims rose by about 18,000.

U.S. equity-index futures maintained losses, and Treasuries fell after the jobless data and a separate report on durablegoods orders that showed a decline from the previous month. The Bloomberg dollar index rose.