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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment insurance fell to 787,000 for the week ending Oct. 17, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The most recent figure is the lowest weekly total since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March but is still about four times higher than February of this year when totals hovered around 200,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected claims to reach 875,000 for the week.
The four-week moving average fell by nearly 1.1 million claims to just over 10 million. Continuing claims, for which data is a week behind, decreased by 1 million to 8.4 million.