A hiring sign is displayed at a restaurant in Rolling Meadows, Ill., Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Slightly fewer Americans applied for jobless claims last week, further indicating that the labor market remains strong in an era of high interest rates.
Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 3,000 to 217,000 for the week ending Nov. 4, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.
The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, inched up by 1,500 to 212,250.
Overall, 1.83 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Oct. 28, about 22,000 more than the previous week and the most since April.
