US Initial Jobless Claims Fell Last Week, State Data Suggest

Recruiters speak to jobseekers at the Appalachian State University internship and job fair in Boone, North Carolina on Oct. 24.

Photographer: Allison Joyce/Bloomberg

Applications for US unemployment benefits fell last week, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of unadjusted state-level filings released during the federal government shutdown.

Initial claims decreased to about 218,000 in the week ended Oct. 25 from a revised 231,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department data suggest.