US weekly jobless claims fall to 197,000, below expectations

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment benefit claims fell by 2,000 to 197,000 last week, below market expectations, the US Labor Department said Thursday.

The figure for the week ending Oct. 3 came in below the market forecast of 200,000. The previous week’s reading was revised up by 2,000 to 199,000.

The four-week moving average, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, declined by 2,500 to 198,000. The previous week’s average was revised up by 500 to 200,500.

Continuing claims, which track people already receiving unemployment benefits, increased by 17,000 to 1.716 million in the week ending Sept. 26.

The previous week’s figure was revised down by 2,000 to 1.699 million.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims fell by 12,250 to 1.711 million.

In September, the US economy added just 29,000 nonfarm jobs, well below forecasts of 90,000, according to an earlier Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in September from 4.1% in August.

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