By Eric Morath 
 

WASHINGTON-The number of Americans filing applications for new unemployment benefits fell to a fresh 49-year low last week, though any effect from Hurricane Florence may not be realized for several weeks.

Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 201,000 in the week ended Sept. 15, the Labor Department said Thursday.

It was the third straight week claims touched the lowest level since December 1969.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected 210,000 new claims last week.

Hurricane Florence made landfall on Friday morning in North Carolina. Some businesses closed ahead of the storm and others were shuttered due to damage and flooding. In many cases, those closures made workers eligible to file for unemployment benefits.

However, the degree to which the storm disrupted the labor market in the South likely won't be apparent for several weeks. Seasonally adjusted state-level data on claims is released with a week lag. Nonseasonally adjusted data showed the number of claims filed in North Carolina and South Carolina fell last week from a week earlier. Claims in Virginia increased.

None of those states estimated their number of applications, as sometimes occurs when weather causes disruptions in a state. A Labor Department official said there's been no indication that the storm affected processing of claims in any state impacted by the hurricane. Claims in Hawaii were estimated last week.

The storm's effects may have made it difficult for affected workers to file claims. Workers do not need to seek benefits on the same week they lose their jobs.

Thursday's report showed the four-week moving average of claims, a steadier measure, fell last week by 2,250 to 205,750. That was also the lowest level since 1969.

Jobless claims have remained low in recent years, as the labor market continues to tighten and managers face difficulty finding qualified employees. The unemployment rate has been hovering near an 18-year low in recent months.

The number of claims workers made for longer than a week declined by 55,000 to 1,645,000 in the week ended Sept. 8. The figure, also known as continuing claims, is reported with a one-week lag.

The Labor Department report on jobless claims can be accessed at: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm.

Write Eric Morath at eric.morath@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2018 08:45 ET (12:45 GMT)

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