More people in the United States filed applications for unemployment benefits last week than any week last year, and analysts are saying it’s likely a result of Hurricane Helene rather than a weak labor market.
The Department of Labor reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims jumped by 33,000 during the week of Oct. 3, just one week after Hurricane Helene caused massive devastation in the Southeast. Analysts saw 258,000 applications but were only expecting 229,000. The states with the highest jumps were those hit by Helene, including Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Helene left businesses underwater, flooded neighborhoods, destroyed bridges and roads, and shredded homes. Large job suppliers, such as a Tennessee plastic factory and an IV factory in North Carolina, were damaged.
There was also a spike in jobless applications in Washington state due to the Boeing machinist strike, which began Sept. 13 and involved 33,000 workers.
Applications for unemployment benefits consist of the total number of U.S. layoffs in a given week, but rates can be susceptible to historic events and disasters. The four-week average of claims, which softens the week-by-week volatility, rose by 6,750 to 231,000.
The number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits rose by 42,000 to 1.86 million for the week of Sept. 28, the highest number since late July.
“Claims will likely continue to be elevated in states affected by Helene and Hurricane Milton as well as the Boeing strike until it is resolved,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist of Oxford Economics. “We think, though, that the Fed will view these impacts as temporary and still expect it to lower rates by (25 basis points) at the November meeting.”
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In the first four months of 2024, applications for unemployment benefits averaged around 213,000 before starting to rise in May. By late July, there were 250,000 applications. Yet, even with an increase in unemployment applications, employers added 254,000 jobs in September, lowering concerns for the U.S. job market.
The job gain in September was far more than expected and was a steep increase from the 159,000 jobs added in August. The unemployment rate had been rising most of 2024 but dropped from 4.2% in August to 4.1% in September.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
