A "now hiring" sign is displayed outside Taylor Party and Equipment Rentals in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S., September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Brian SnyderNov 9 -
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 217,000 for the week ended Nov. 4 from an upwardly revised 220,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 218,000 claims for the latest week., with the pace of hiring slowing and unemployment ticking higher, although joblessness - at 3.9% in October - remains historically low. A separate report showed that there were 1.
The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, rose to 1.834 million during the week ending Oct. 28, the highest level since April, the claims report showed. The so-called continuing claims have increased in recent weeks, but economists said that mostly reflected difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations rather than a material change in the underlying trend.
Indeed, layoffs remain considerably low. Global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said last week that announced job cuts by U.S.-based employers fell 22% last month from September, though they were up 9% from a year earlier.Eli Lilly on Thursday said it has not yet gained approval in Britain for the injection pen it plans to use for its Mounjaro drug against obesity and diabetes, adding to uncertainty over timing of the product's launch.