Macro Matters

US weekly jobless claims rise marginally; productivity accelerates in Q3

By Lucia Mutikani
November 2, 202311:48 AM EDT Updated 3 hours ago

Summary
• Weekly jobless claims increase 5,000 to 217,000
• Continuing claims jump 35,000 to 1.818 million
• Productivity accelerates at 4.7% rate in third quarter
• Unit labor costs decrease at 0.8% pace in third quarter

WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week as the labor market continued to show few signs of a significant slowdown.

While the weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showed unemployment rolls rising to a six-month high, economists were divided on whether this suggested a material change in the underlying trend. The so-called continuing claims have been rising since mid-September.

Some economists shrugged off the increase, which they blamed on difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations. They noted a similar pattern last year over the same period, which was not accompanied by an uptick in the unemployment rate. Others believed this was a sign that laid-off workers were experiencing longer spells of unemployment.

"The sustained increase in continuing claims since Labor Day appears to be a seasonal adjustment phenomenon, as a similar upswing occurred last year," said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP in New York. "We would not give any weight to the increase at this point. It seems likely to be revised away in next spring's annual revisions."

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