Jeff Cox@JEFF.COX.7528@JEFFCOXCNBCCOM
the lowest read sinceMarch
The labor department said Thursday new filings for jobless claims in the U.S. totaled 787,000 last week, the lowest total since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
A group of national economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 875,000 for the week ended Oct. 17.
Labor department officials said the total reflected a decline of 55,000 from the downwardly revised 842,000 from the previous week. The last time the weekly claims total was lower was the 282,000 on March 14, just before an avalanche of layoffs that occurred in conjunction with efforts to combat the virus.
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