It's Jobless Thursday!!

For the first time in 4 weeks, initial unemployment claims fell, albeit slightly.

Still in the pretty bad, but no longer apocalyptic category:

Filings for jobless benefits last week fell for the first time in four weeks, as employers continue to eschew layoffs amid a tight labor market.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell 38,000 in the week ended Oct. 2 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000, from a revised 364,000 the prior week. That put initial claims close to their pandemic low of 312,000 in the week ended Sept. 4.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans continuing to claim unemployment benefits again dropped sharply, a sign of the impact of states broadly ending several federal pandemic benefits programs.

A Labor Department report due Friday will offer an indication of the extent to which Americans leaving unemployment rolls are finding work. Economists expect the agency’s employment report for September will show U.S. employers added 500,000 jobs last month, which would be a pickup from August, when the economy added 235,000 jobs. The unemployment rate is also expected to have fallen to 5.1% last month from 5.2% in August.

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A Labor Department report due Friday will offer an indication of the extent to which Americans leaving unemployment rolls are finding work. Economists expect the agency’s employment report for September will show U.S. employers added 500,000 jobs last month, which would be a pickup from August, when the economy added 235,000 jobs. The unemployment rate is also expected to have fallen to 5.1% last month from 5.2% in August.

The September employment report should be interesting.