US Weekly Jobless Claims Hold at 197K, Beating Forecasts as Labor Market Stays Tight

Initial jobless claims for the week ending October 3 came in at 197,000, matching the prior week's original reading and beating the consensus estimate of 200,000. The prior week's figure was revised up slightly to 199,000, meaning claims effectively fell by 2,000 on an adjusted basis.

Continuing claims for the week ending September 26 rose 17,000 to 1,716,000, coming in above the forecast of 1,700,000 and above the prior week's upwardly revised figure of 1,699,000. The modest increase in continuing claims suggests some workers are taking longer to find new jobs even as layoffs remain historically low.