First Time Jobless Claims Rise 10K

Jobless claims continue to point to rare tightness in the labor market. Though initial claims rose 10,000 in the September 26 week to a slightly higher-than-expected 277,000, the 4-week average is down 1,000 at a 270,750 level that is nearly 5,000 below the month-ago comparison.

In a special positive, continuing claims broke lower in the latest data which lag by a week. Continuing claims for the September 19 week fell a sharp 23,000 to 2.219 million with the 4-week average down 10,000 to a 2.242 million level that is nearly 20,000 below the month-ago comparison. The unemployment rate for insured workers fell 1 tenth to a very low 1.6 percent.

There are no special factors in today's report, one that may limit downside expectations for tomorrow's September employment report.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
Jobless claims are expected to rise slightly to 272,000 in the September 26 week. For the past six months, jobless claims have been signaling tight conditions in the labor market and have been offering the hawks their strongest arguments at the FOMC.