US weekly jobless claims little changed again

Unemployment claims in the U.S. remained at low levels during the latest week.

Nevertheless, some economists were anticipating a move higher over the next month or so, given the rebound in layoff announcements in August.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the Department of Labor reported that initial unemployment claims crept up by 2,000 over the week ending on 30 September to reach 207,000.

Economists had penciled in 210,000.

A preliminary estimate for the week before was revised up by 1,000 to 205,000.

The four-week moving average meanwhile, which aims to smooth out the fluctuations in the data from one week to the next, slipped by 2,500 to 208,750.

Secondary unemployment claims, which are those not being filed for the first time and referencing the week ending on 23 September, dipped by 1,000 to 1.664m.

"Stepping back from this noise, it is clear that the initial surge in layoffs late last year, concentrated in the tech sector, has flattened," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

However, he went on to add that: "the impact of much higher rates and tightening credit has not yet worked through the economy in full, especially in the services sector, so we still think that claims will be substantially higher by, say, the end of the first quarter, regardless of what happens over the next few weeks."