The Latest Numbers on Americans Looking for Unemployment Benefits Are In

And it’s time once again to review how many Americans last week applied for unemployment benefits:

Applications for jobless benefits fell by 9,000 for the week ending Nov. 2, bringing the total to 336,000, down from last week’s revised figure of 345,000, the Labor Department announced Thursday.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, fell by 9,250, bringing the total to 348,250, down from the previous unrevised average of 357,500. The number was elevated in part because of the 16-day government shutdown and backlogs in California that occurred due to ongoing systems upgrades, the Associated Press notes.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending October 26, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the Labor report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 26 was 2,868,000, an increase of 4,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,864,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,866,000, a decrease of 8,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,874,500,” it adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Oct. 26 were Oregon (+2,956), Florida (+2,873), Illinois (+2,460), New York (+2,033), and Pennsylvania (+1,542).

Meanwhile, in California (-4,460), Virginia (-1,807), Washington (-833), Maryland (-431), and Missouri (-343) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

Markets are opening mixed, nonchalant on the jobless benefits data but excited for the Twitter initial public offering (IPO):