New claims for unemployment benefits in the United States fell to their lowest level in 57 years last week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, in the latest sign that American employers are holding on to the workers they have.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 189,000 for the week ended 31 October, below the 196,000 forecast by economists polled by Reuters. The figure matched the level reached in mid-July, which was the lowest reading since 1969, and claims have now stayed mostly below 200,000 since mid-September.
Low layoffs, supported by strong domestic demand and profit growth, are anchoring the labour market, even as hiring remains constrained by uncertainty over the dragging US–Israeli war with Iran. The government reported this week that there were 1.06 open jobs for every unemployed person in September, up from 1.02 in August — a sign, some economists argue, that the labour market is starting to tighten.
Others caution against reading too much into the low claims figures. Some view them as a function of a smaller labour force amid an immigration crackdown, rather than evidence of fewer job cuts, and the headline number says little about how long people stay out of work once they lose a job.
A separate report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, also published on Thursday, showed US-based employers announced 43,994 job cuts in October, up 2 per cent from September but 71 per cent lower than a year earlier — the lowest total for any October since 2023. Employers announced plans to hire 444,692 workers last month, a 57 per cent jump from October 2025 and the highest October figure since 2009, though the firm said the hiring was largely short-term, seasonal work.
“Employers are holding on to the workers they have heading into the holidays, and the hiring they are announcing is largely short-term, seasonal work,” said Andy Challenger, the firm’s chief revenue officer. “Companies want the flexibility to meet holiday demand without adding permanent headcount.”
That reluctance to add permanent staff means some unemployed people are spending long periods out of work. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid — a proxy for hiring — rose by 23,000 to a still-low seasonally adjusted 1.718 million during the week ended 24 October. Continuing claims do not include some unemployed people, including recent college graduates and others with little or no work history, and some will have exhausted their eligibility for benefits, which is limited to 26 weeks in most states.
The claims report has no bearing on the government’s closely watched employment report for October, due on Friday, because it falls outside the survey period. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have risen by 65,000 jobs last month after a 29,000 increase in September, according to a Reuters survey of economists, with the unemployment rate forecast to hold at 4.2 per cent.
Sources: Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/us-weekly-jobless-claims-57-year-lows-amid-low-layoffs-2026-11-05/) and the US Department of Labor. Note: the Challenger figures are that firm’s own survey, not government data, and economists disagree on whether the low claims level reflects fewer job cuts or a smaller labour force.
