First time unemployment claims for the week ending October 17th came in at 787,000, the first time under 800,000 since mid-March, the Department of Labor reported. The number fell 55,000 from the previous week’s number, which was revised down 56,000 from 898,000 to 842,000.
The weekly unemployment claims were still four times higher than they were one year ago, when they were at 187,000. Currently, more than 23 million Americans are receiving unemployment benefits nationally; one year ago, 1.3 million Americans were getting unemployment benefits.