Jobless Benefits Numbers Are In: Here's How We Did

Here we are again with our weekly jobless benefits report:

Applications for jobless benefits fell by 2,000 for the week ending Nov. 9, bringing the total to 339,000, down from last week’s revised figure of 341,000, the Labor Department announced Thursday.

This is the fifth straight decline in unemployment benefits applications.

The four-week moving average, a “less volatile” figure, fell by 5,750, bringing the total to 344,000, down from the previous unrevised average of 349,750.

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending November 2, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate,” the report reads.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 2 was 2,874,000, unchanged from the preceding week's revised level of 2,874,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,866,250, a decrease of 2,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,868,250,” it adds.

The states with the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Nov. 2 were Michigan (+2,720), Ohio (+2,289), New Jersey (+1,371), Massachusetts (+1,051), and Kansas (+919).

Meanwhile, Oregon (-3,011), California (-2,468), Tennessee (-989), and South Carolina (-718) posted the biggest decreases in initial claims.

Markets are opening mixed, apparently unconcerned with the latest unemployment benefits data: