U.S. Jobless Claims Fall Unexpectedly to 194,000, Lowest Since July

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to 194,000 in the week ended October 17th, down 6,000 from the prior week's revised 200,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists had expected claims to rise to 200,000. The decline marks the lowest level since a multi-decade low of 189,000 in the week ended July 18th. The four-week moving average edged down to 197,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised 198,750. Continuing claims, tracking people receiving ongoing benefits, climbed by 25,000 to 1.728 million in the week ended October 10th. The four-week moving average of continuing claims rose to 1,711,000, up 4,000 from the prior week's revised 1,707,000.