Weekly jobless claims—a measurement of the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time—fell for the second straight week as the labor market remains resilient even after hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated the southeast.
The number of individuals filing for first-time jobless benefits declined by 15,000 for the week ending Oct. 19, to 227,000, according to new data from the Department of Labor. Last week’s reading was adjusted slightly higher by 1,000, to 242,000.
Markets had penciled in a reading of 242,000.
The economic fallout from the two hurricanes appears to be limited as initial jobless claims in storm-affected states were mostly subdued….