US jobless claims fall below 300,000 for the first time in 19 months

The US Labor Department said today that US jobless claims fell by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 293,000 for the week ending October 9, the lowest level since mid-March 2020.

Analysts had expected that US jobless claims would rise to 319,000 last week, and jobless claims fell below 300,000 last week for the first time in 19 months. Continuing jobless claims in the United States fell by 134,000 to 2.593 million in the week ending October 2, the lowest level since mid-March 2020.