In part because of fewer hurricane-related claims in Louisiana, the number of initial claims for unemployment in the U.S. fell last week for the third consecutive week. Claims for the week ending Oct. 29 were a seasonally adjusted 323,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised total of 331,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Nov. 3.
The department's four-week moving average of claims, which tends to give a better picture of underlying labor market conditions because it smooths out week-to-week changes, also fell last week. The average was 350,500, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week's revised average of 367,500.
