Published Oct. 23, 2026, 12:53 p.m. ET | Updated Oct. 23, 2026 WASHINGTON — The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to levels approaching a 57-year low, the Labor Department reported Thursday, extending a historic stretch of low layoffs in the U.S. economy. Applications for state unemployment insurance dropped by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 in the week ended Oct. 17. The reading came in below the consensus forecast of 200,000. The prior week’s level was revised up by 1,000 to 200,000. Initial claims, a proxy for layoffs, reached their lowest point since July, when they fell to 189,000, the lowest single weekly reading since 1969. Claims have remained low for most of 2026.
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