By Noreen Burke
Investing.com -- The number of Americans applying for initial unemployment benefits fell to 787,000 last week, the lowest since April, but remained at levels indicating that the recovery in the labor market is struggling for momentum as the coronavirus pandemic enters its first full winter.
Economists had forecast a decline to 860,000. The prior week's figure was revised down to 842,000 from an initially reported 898,000.
The number of continuing claims, which are reported with a one-week lag to initial claims, fell sharply for a second straight week to 8.373 million. The previous week's figure was revised down to 9.397 million. Continuing claims are falling in part because many people have exhausted their eligibility for regular state benefits.
The Labor Department said that California had completed its pause in processing of initial claims and had resumed reporting new claims as part of the national total. The report reflected the count for California for the current week and revisions to the two previous weeks. Earlier this month, the state said it needed to suspend data filings in order to reduce its claims processing backlog and implement fraud prevention technology.
The report comes as talks in Washington over a economic stimulus deal drag on amid doubts over whether the negotiations would continue or pause until after the Nov. 3 election. The number of all people claiming unemployment-related benefits fell by just over 1 million to 23.15 million, as of October 3, the last date for which such data are available,