The number of new claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. declined slightly for the week ending November 8, estimated at about 227,543 compared with 228,899 the prior week. At the same time, estimates for continuing claims fell to around 1.942 million, down from about 1.956 million the week before.
Because the official data from the U.S. Department of Labor has been delayed due to a 43 day government shutdown, these figures come from private-sector estimates applying the Department’s methodology. The estimates suggest the labour market remains in a “no-hire, no‐fire” kind of pause meaning layoffs are not spiking, but neither is hiring very strong. This relative stability gives the Federal Reserve less immediate pressure to cut interest rates, despite inflation concerns.
