Initial Weekly Job Claims Fall to 709,000, Lowest Level Since Onset of Pandemic

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Initial weekly job claims fell by 28,000 claims to 709,000 for the week ending Nov. 7, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The most recent figure marks the lowest weekly claims since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March. Additionally, the number of claims beat expectations from economists surveyed by Dow Jones, who expected the weekly claims to come in at 740,000. The four-week moving average also decreased, falling by 33,250 to 755,250.

Continuing claims dipped by 436,000 to nearly 6.8 million for the week ending Oct. 31. (Data for continuing claims is a week behind.)