U.S. Jobless Claims Jump Higher Than Expected
By Dean Seal
U.S. jobless claims reversed recent declines last week, climbing more sharply than anticipated though remaining historically low.
The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits was 200,000 in the week through Nov. 7, 9,000 higher than the upwardly revised 191,000 reported a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were expecting a jump to 195,000 new claims.
Continuing claims, which scale with the total size of the unemployed population, totaled a little under 1.7 million in the week through Oct. 31, falling by 20,000 from the downwardly revised total a week earlier. The data on continuing claims lag the initial-claims data by a week.
Unemployment was reported last week at 4.1% for October, a figure it has been sticking close to since March as employers avoid mass layoffs. The steady labor market has given the Federal Reserve wiggle room to focus its policy efforts on inflation, cementing expectations for a rate hike next month and potentially more next year.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 12, 2026 08:56 ET (13:56 GMT)
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