The number of workers filing unemployment claims fell to the lowest level in 14 years Thursday, in the latest sign that the U.S. labor market is gathering strength.
The Department of Labor reported Thursday that just 264,000 workers filed claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending October 11, fewer than the 290,000 Wall Street expected and down from 287,000 the week before. It was the lowest reading since 2000.
The four-week average of unemployment claims fell from 288,000 to 248,0000, also the lowest level since 2000.
Thursday’s jobless claims numbers are a favorable indication of job growth, wrote High Frequency Economics’ Jim O’Sullivan in response to Thursday’s release. Falling unemployment claims “suggest ongoing strengthening from a pace that is already more than enough to keep the unemployment rate trending down,” O’Sullivan concluded.
Net job gains have accelerated to nearly 230,000 a month in 2014, up from about 190,000 in 2013, and the unemployment rate has fallen from 6.6 percent to 5.9 percent in September.
Part of that improvement has come from the declining number of layoffs and other separations.
But businesses have also created more jobs. The U.S. had more job openings in August than anytime since 2001, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gross monthly job creation has soared by about 25 percent over the course of the past year. Increasing job openings and falling layoffs are expected to translate into faster monthly net job creation.
