MNI DATA ANALYSIS: US Jobless Claims Rise 10,000 To 233,000>

--Four-Week Moving Average Fell 9,000 To 239,500

--Continuing Claims For Oct 14 Survey Week -18k From Sep 16 Survey Week 

By Sara Haire and Holly Stokes

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - Initial claims U.S. state unemployment benefits 

rose by 10,000 to 233,000 in the October 21 week, below the 235,000 

level expected, data released by the Labor Department Thursday showed. 

     Claims from the October 14 survey week was revised up by 1,000 to 

223,000, still showing the hurricanes effect has continued to disappear 

from the data. 

     The four-week moving average for initial claims, a better measure 

of the underlying trend of the data, fell by 9,000 to 239,500 in the 

October 21 week. If the number of headline claims does not change next 

week and there are no revisions to data from the past four weeks, the 

four-week average will fall by 6,250 as the 258,000 level in the 

September 30 week rolls out of the calculation. 

     Seasonal adjustment factors had expected a increase of 0.1%, or 

223, in unadjusted claims. Instead, unadjusted claims rose by 4.5%, or 

9,257 to 214,794. The current week's level is well below the 237,314 

level in the comparable week a year ago. 

     The level of continuing claims fell by 3,000 to 1.893 million in 

the October 14 employment survey week, down 18,000 from the 1.911 

million level in the September 16 employment survey week, suggesting 

October payrolls could see a bounce back from September data. 

     The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate 1.3% in the 

October 14 survey week. The current week's rate is down from 1.5% in the 

same week a year earlier. 

     The unemployment rate among the insured labor force is well below 

that reported monthly by the Labor Department because claims are 

approved for the most part only for job losers, not the job leavers and 

labor force reentrants included in the monthly report. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]