Initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped 25,000 last week following a revised gain of 16,000 the week prior. The decline to 329,000 was to the lowest level in over a month and compared to the Consensus expectation for 345,000 claims.

The latest figure is for the October survey period for nonfarm payrolls and initial claims fell 22,000 (6.3%) from the September period.

During the last ten years there has been a (negative) 73% correlation between the level of initial claims and the m/m change in payroll employment.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims fell to 348,250 (-11.1% y/y).

Ongoing claims for unemployment insurance fell 8,000 following a 51,000 decline the prior week that was revised from -11,000.

The insured rate of unemployment remained at 2.2% versus the downwardly revised level of the prior week.

"Why Do Americans Work So Much More Than Europeans?" by Nobel Prize winner Edward C. Prescott can be found here.