Weekly Jobless Claims Hold at 194,000; Continuing Claims Slip to Lowest Since Early October

Initial jobless claims stood at 194,000 in the week ending October 24, down 1,000 from a revised 195,000, the Department of Labor reported Thursday. The print came in below the roughly 198,000 to 199,000 that economists in the Action Economics and Haver Analytics surveys had penciled in, and it keeps initial claims in the sub-200,000 zone where the series has sat for eight straight weeks. The four week moving average eased to 196,750 from 198,000, pulling the trend reading back toward the July low that still marks the cycle floor for this expansion.

Key takeaways Initial claims came in at 194,000 for the week ending October 24, below consensus, with the four week average easing to 196,750. Co…