U.S. initial jobless claims rise modestly in start of November

The U.S. initial jobless claims rise modestly in the week ended 4 November, but they remain at historically low levels. Looking at the report details, it shows that the labor markets in Texas and Florida have normalized, while conditions in Puerto Rico continue to deteriorate.

The initial jobless claims increased by 10,000 to 239,000, coming in above the consensus expectations of 232k. In spite of the rise on the week, the four-week moving average in initial jobless claims dropped to 231k from 232k. States with the biggest declines in claims include Florida and Texas, among others, implying that labor markets in these states continue to normalize. In Texas and Florida, the initial claims came in at 14,059 and 8553, respectively, which are similar to their July and August levels prior to landfall of Hurricanes.

On the contrary, initial claims in Puerto Rico increased to 7767, implying that the island continues to struggle after the destruction from Hurricane Maria. Other states that have recorded considerable rises in claims include Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York.

Continuing claims for the week ended 28 October increased 17k to 1.901 million, fully reversing the previous week’s decline. The four-week moving average in continuing claims remained stable at 1.895 million, as compared with 1.896 million a week earlier. Meanwhile, the insured jobless rate rose modestly to 1.4 percent from 1.3 percent.

At 16:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at -18.0122. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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