Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week and layoffs remained at historically low levels despite elevated interest rates.
According to statistics released Thursday by the Labor Department, jobless claim applications fell to 216,000 for the week of Oct. 26. That’s a drop of 12,000 applications, and fewer than the 227,000 analysts had forecast.
The four-week average of weekly claims fell to 236,500, a drop of 2,250.
Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, declined by 26,000 to 1.86 million for the week of Oct. 19.
