US jobless claims fall to 189,000 as payrolls test labor-market strength
US initial jobless claims fell to 189,000, the lowest weekly reading since 1969, while continuing claims remained near 1.7 million. The combination points to unusually low layoffs but leaves the next payrolls report as the key test of whether hiring is also weakening.
The story
Initial jobless claims fell to 189,000 in the latest week, after recent readings in the mid-to-high 190,000s. The prior week’s figure was described as the lowest since 1969, extending an unusually long stretch of low layoffs.
Continuing claims were holding around 1.7 million Americans, indicating that the number of people remaining on benefits had not broken sharply higher even as discussion of a softer labor market continued.
The figures address the “fire” side of employment rather than the pace of hiring. The next payrolls report will provide the broader test, including whether employers are adding workers slowly enough to offset the stability implied by claims.
The claims data alone do not establish that labor demand is strengthening: low layoffs can coexist with weak hiring. The reporting also characterizes sentiment as poor, leaving the labor-market signal split between historically low separations and uncertainty about new jobs.
The next payrolls release is the main event to watch. Its employment change and unemployment rate will help determine whether the 189,000 claims reading reflects durable labor-market resilience or a market with few layoffs but limited hiring.
Our read · Thu, Nov 5
US initial jobless claims fell to 189,000, the lowest weekly reading since 1969.
Why. The labor signal is split: historically low layoffs argue against an abrupt employment break, but claims do not measure whether employers are creating enough new jobs. The next payrolls report is the deciding print because it can show whether weak hiring is offsetting the unusually low level of separations.
Both cases
What could change this view: A payrolls report showing sustained hiring and a stable unemployment rate would undercut the slowdown interpretation; a sharp rise in claims would challenge the resilience signal.
Who reported it · 1
Keep reading
Latest on the Wire
SMCI files 10-Q — Quarterly Report: 10-QHims ends GLP-1 compounding in Lilly deal as shares rallyUS adds 165,000 jobs in October as wages rise and unemployment fallsTrump weighs renewed Iran strikes as negotiators review a new proposalBitcoin holds $76,000 as Nasdaq futures rebound 1.5% before jobs dataContinue on the Wire →Latest on the Wire
Hims ends GLP-1 compounding in Lilly deal as shares rallyTrump weighs renewed Iran strikes as negotiators review a new proposalBitcoin holds $76,000 as Nasdaq futures rebound 1.5% before jobs dataModerna swings to profit as cancer-vaccine momentum gathers paceContinue on the Wire →Top this week
Democrats sweep Congress, setting Trump up for legislative gridlockFutures rebound after blue sweep as dollar slides and gold tops $4,000Bitcoin plunges as AI chip selling drags Nasdaq down more than 2%Trump’s Republican Party faces a midterm verdict from US voters todayBitcoin faces renewed pressure as Binance hack intensifies market fearAbout this report
Reported by ZeroHedge as 'Low Hire, Low Fire, Low Inspire': Claims Hit 57 Year Lows, Sentiment Still Sucks, And Payrolls Are Next
, . Who answers for this
The only report in this record. Closes are licensed end-of-day data from Databento; the move after a story is its first close against the close before it. How this is decided →
Kept as written · your side, if you take one, is graded privately against licensed closes after 10 trading days · nothing here is advice · How the Wire is made →