It seems like a broken record, but the number of Americans filing for state unemployment claims continues to hold at new lows.
Figures released Thursday by the U.S. Labor Department Thursday showed initial jobless claims were unchanged at a seasonally-adjusted 246,000 for the week ended Oct. 8, the lowest reading since November 1973, indicating sustained labour market strength that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December.
Claims for the prior week were revised to show 3,000 fewer applications received than previously reported.
It was the 84th consecutive week that claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with robust labour market conditions. That is the longest stretch since 1970, when the labour market stateside was much smaller.
