–Initial Claims Decline By 7,000 to 751,000; 4-Week Average Slides
–Nonfarm Productivity +4.9% as Output, Hours Worked Both Rebound
By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Initial claims fell by 7,000 to a level of 751,000 in the October 24 week, slightly above expectations for a decline to 745,000.
The four-week moving average for initial claims declined by 4,000 to 787,000 in the current week, the 14th straight decline, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Unadjusted claims slipped by only 543 in the current week after a decrease of 27,811 in the previous week. Seasonal adjustment factors expected a modest increase in the current week.
The Labor Department reported that 362,883 workers filed under Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance on an unadjusted basis in the current week, up from 359,044 in the previous week
The level of continuing claims fell by 538,000 to 7.285 million in the October 24 week, maintaining the downward trend.
Released at the same time, nonfarm productivity rose by 4.9% in the third quarter, ahead of the 3.7% gain expected.
Output rebounded by 43.5% in the third quarter after a 36.8% decline in the second quarter, while hours worked growth accelerated to 36.8% from a 42.9% drop in the second quarter.
Unit labor costs fell by 8.9% in the third quarter, not as severe as the 10.4% decline expected. In addition to the increase in productivity, compensation fell by 4.4% as lower wage workers shifted back into the workforce.
Earlier in the day, Challenger reported a decline in layoffs to 80,666 in October after 118,804 in September. The monthly total was the lowest since February before the COVID shutdowns but was up sharply from 50,275 a year ago. The entertainment and leisure sector was again the largest contributor, adding 14,804 cuts.
There were 255,198 hiring plans in October, led by 160,275 new hires in the retail sector, a normal occurrence leading up to the holiday season. There were 929,860 hiring plans in September and 190,835 hiring plans in October 2019.
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Contact this reporter: kevin@macenews.com.
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