The U.S. unemployment picture improved again last week, with initial filings for unemployment insurance falling to another pandemic-era low.
First-time claims dropped to 269,000 for the week ended Oct. 30, down 14,000 from the previous period and better than the Dow Jones estimate for 275,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The decline in fillings comes amid a rollback in special programs initiated during the crisis, with the total of those receiving benefits under all programs dropping another 157,731 to 2.67 million.
As the jobs picture clears up, the four-week moving average for claims, which helps smooth weekly volatility, fell 15,000 to 284,750. A year ago, the average was 791,000, and it was 225,500 in March 2020 just before the pandemic declaration sent more than 20 million Americans to the unemployment line.
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