Initial claims for jobless insurance during the week ended November 1st fell to 278,000 (-18.5% y/y) from 288,000, revised from 287,000. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 285,000 claims in the latest week. The four-week moving average of initial claims declined to 279,000, the lowest level since April, 2000.

Continuing claims for unemployment insurance in the week ended October 25 rose to 2.348 million (-18.8% y/y). The four-week moving average fell to 2.370 million. The insured rate of unemployment held at 1.8% for the eighth straight week, the lowest level since May 2007.

By state, in the week ended October 18, the insured rate of unemployment continued to vary greatly with Indiana (0.85%), Wyoming (0.99%), Louisiana (1.02%), Ohio (1.06%), Maine (1.08%) and Texas (1.15%) at the low end of the range. At the high end were Maryland (1.85%), Massachusetts (2.01%), Pennsylvania (2.18%), Connecticut (2.35%), California (2.53%) and New Jersey (2.73%). These data are not seasonally adjusted.

Data on weekly unemployment insurance are contained in Haver's WEEKLY database and they are summarized monthly in USECON. Data for individual states are in REGIONW. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics survey, carried in the AS1REPNA database.