An expected marginal increase in the U.S. Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims report scheduled for release on October 24, 2024, is unlikely to worry the market. The report of the Department of Labor (DoL) is expected to report 243,000 initial claims for the week ended October 17, according to a report in the market information website investing.com.
The claims were 241,000 in the previous week, the same as the estimate for that week as the claims fell sharply from 258,000 reported in the week ended October 3.
The unemployment numbers are closely watched as the market expects the Federal Reserve’s November meeting to continue to reduce the interest rates. On September17, the Federal Reserve reduced the interest rates by 50 percentage points to 4.75 percent to 5 percent marking a break from the pattern that lasted almost two years when the rates either went up or remained the same.
Inflation, which is another major metric that the Fed Reserve monitors, has been within the expected range. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all urban consumers rose at a mild rate of 0.2 percent in September, maintaining the past 12-month rate of increase of 2.4 percent.
The unemployment claims that declined through September 2024, suddenly saw an increase in the early weeks of October, following Hurricane Helen and job losses in the manufacturing sector.