Jobless claims fall below 300,000 for the first time since the pandemic began

Jobless claims totaled 293,000 for the week ended Oct. 9, below the 318,000 estimate.
That was the first time initial claims dropped below 300,000 since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Continuing claims fell by 134,000 to 2.59 million.
Wholesale producer prices increased 0.5% for September and 8.6% over the past year, the latter being a fresh record and reflective of ongoing inflationary pressures.

Initial jobless claims fell below 300,000 for the first time since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Labor Department said Thursday.

In another sign the jobs market is getting closer to its old self, first-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 293,000, the best level since March 14, 2020, which saw 256,000 claims just as the Covid-19 spread intensified.

A separate economic release Thursday showed that prices for final-demand wholesale goods increased 0.5% in September, slightly below the 0.6% Dow Jones estimate for the producer price index.

However, on a 12-month basis, the index increased 8.6%, a fresh record for a data series that goes back to November 2010 and reflective of the current inflationary climate, according to the Labor Department.

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