The latest weekly initial claims report was the best since March 14, 2020. Initial claims for the week ending October 9 decreased by 36,000 to 293,000 (Briefing.com consensus 332,000).

Continuing claims for the week ending October 2 decreased by 134,000 to 2.593 million, which was also the lowest since March 14, 2020.

The four-week moving average for initial claims decreased by 10,500 to 334,250. That is the lowest for this average since March 14, 2020.

The four-week moving average for continuing claims decreased by 30,500 to 2,737,750. That is the lowest level since March 21, 2020.

The total number of continued weeks claimed for benefits in all programs for the week ending September 25 was 3,649,013, a decrease of 523,426 from the prior week. There were 24,902,586 weekly claims filed for benefits in all programs in the same week a year ago.

The key takeaway from the report is that the claims figures are moving in the manner and direction they should be moving given the recurring refrain of labor shortages and the recurring reports showing that there are more than ten million job openings.