US Jobless Claims Drop Despite Government Shutdown

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, even as the federal government remained shut down. Claims dropped to about 218,000 for the week ending October 25, down from a revised 231,000 the previous week — a clear sign that the country’s job market remains resilient.

Although the US Labor Department hasn’t issued its regular weekly report since September 25 due to the shutdown, data from most states was made available for public access. The figures were adjusted using previously released seasonal factors from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, resulting in estimates that closely match official trends.

Data from Massachusetts, Arizona, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands was unavailable, so a four-week average was used for those areas. Despite these gaps, the overall picture points to a steady labor market with minimal disruption.

In a related indicator, continuing claims—which track the number of people still receiving jobless benefits—rose slightly to 1.95 million in the week ending October 18, compared to 1.94 million a week earlier.

Even with recent news of layoffs from major corporations such as Amazon and US automakers, the broader job market has shown no major signs of weakness. The drop in new unemployment claims suggests that hiring remains steady and layoffs, while rising in select sectors, haven’t spread widely.

For now, the figures highlight the underlying strength of the US labor market, standing firm even amid policy uncertainty and a temporary government shutdown.