Initial U.S. jobless claims fell 6,000 to 194,000 for the week ending Oct. 17, close to a 57-year low, while the four-week average dipped below 198,000. Continuing claims rose 25,000 to a six-week high of 1.728 million, and long-term unemployment reached 27 percent in September, showing the job hunt remains tough even as layoffs stay low. The Conference Board said strong September jobs data give the Fed reason to focus on inflation, and traders expect a quarter-point hike at the December meeting. Seasonal job listings are up about 10 percent from a year ago, with the National Retail Federation estimating retailers will hire up to 375,000 seasonal workers, matching last year's forecast of 356,000. PricewaterhouseCoopers projects consumers will spend an average of $708 on gifts this year, down 2 percent from 2025.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on theepochtimes.com ↗
Keywords
employmentunemploymentFedinterest rates
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
DXY
▲ Likely positiveRelevance: medium
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 101.70 |
| Change that session | 0.00% |
XAU/USD
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: low
| Market | Gold |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 4,141.17 |
| Change that session | +0.39% |
SPY
• NeutralSPDR S&P 500 ETF
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 773.13 |
| Change that session | +0.53% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- US weekly jobless claims near 57 - year lows amid low layoffs
Initial U.S. jobless claims fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 for the week ended October 17, below the 200,000 that economists polled by Reuters had expected and the sixth straight week at or below 200,000. The four-week average dropped to 197,750, the lowest since 1969, and economists say low layoffs, strong profits and a shrinking workforce from retirements and immigration curbs are shielding workers, though hiring remains sluggish. Continuing claims rose 25,000 to 1.728 million, and the unemployment rate was 4.2% in September, with payrolls up 29,000 that month after 133,000 in August. The Fed raised rates 25 basis points in September to 3.75%-4.00% and is expected to hold at its meeting next week, though some economists expect another hike in December.
- US weekly jobless claims near 57 - year lows
Initial jobless claims fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 in the week ended October 17, near 57-year lows and below the 200,000 that Reuters-polled economists had forecast, pointing to low layoffs and labour market stability. Continuing claims rose 25,000 to 1.728 million, unemployment was 4.2% in September, and payrolls rose 29,000 that month. Economists still see a 'low-hire, low-fire' market, with hiring stymied by the war and tariffs, and warn that tighter financial conditions and higher rates could undercut the labour market next year. Economists expect the Fed to hold rates next week and hike again in December.
- US jobless claims fell to 194 , 000 last week , lowest since July
U.S. unemployment claims fell to 194,000 last week from 200,000 the week before, the fewest in three months, a sign layoffs remain low. Claims have stayed at historically low levels this year, never topping 230,000 in a single week, and the four-week average dipped to 197,750. Hiring is sluggish in a “low-hire, low-fire” job market, and the unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% last month. Employers have added an average of 68,000 jobs a month this year, better than 2025’s 9,700 but well below the 166,000 monthly average in 2023 and 2024.
- Texas employment growth drops below long-term average as 19,000 jobs shed: Dallas Fed
The Dallas Fed's Texas Employment Forecast says job growth in Texas has slowed: 15,800 people joined the workforce in September, but the state lost 18,900 jobs that month. Year-to-date job growth is 0.8%, well below the state's long-run average of 2%, with government and construction posting the largest declines and manufacturing a bright spot. Dallas Fed senior business economist Luis Torres linked the slowdown to labor supply constraints, partly from sharply lower immigration. The latest forecast sees 0.9% job growth in 2026, down from the previous month's forecast, and the unemployment rate remains at 4.4%. Governor Greg Abbott cited 154,300 non-farm jobs added over the past year, a rate 0.8 percentage points above the national rate.
- Texas employment growth drops below long - term average as 19 , 000 jobs shed : Dallas Fed
The Dallas Fed's Texas Employment Forecast shows job growth slowed as Texas lost 18,900 jobs in September while 15,800 people joined the workforce. Year-to-date job growth stood at 0.8 percent, well below the state's long-running average of 2 percent, with government and construction posting the largest declines and manufacturing a bright spot linked to oil and gas and AI. The Dallas Fed lowered its 2026 forecast to 0.9 percent growth, while the unemployment rate held at 4.4%. Governor Greg Abbott pointed to 154,300 non-farm jobs added over the past year, 0.8 percentage points above the national rate.
- The Fed Just Found AI Is Starting to Cost Jobs in 5 of Its 12 Districts
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, released October 14, 2026, reported for the first time that artificial intelligence is affecting hiring in five of its twelve Districts, where some firms cut staff through attrition, delayed hiring, or planned fewer jobs after adopting AI. The Fed did not name those Districts, and most reported little or no net change in overall employment. Hard data still looks firm, with initial jobless claims at 197,000 for the week ending October 3 and unemployment rising to 4.2% in September from 4.1%. Growth was weak, with only two Districts reporting moderate expansion, and higher oil prices were cited across reports, alongside September annual inflation of 3.7% released the same day. The article notes the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) closed down 1.08% at $769.60 that day and is up 12.87% year to date, and argues the Beige Book findings are anecdotal until official figures confirm them.
Related markets
Latest news
- Optics Stocks Tumble as Tech Selloff Deepens Ahead of Earnings: Coherent Tumbles 12%, Applied Optoelectronics Drops 10%, Lumentum Falls 9%
Optical networking stocks that drove the AI data-center rally fell sharply as a broader tech selloff deepened ahead of earnings. Coherent (COHR) traded at $209.82, down 12%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) fell 10% to $69.30, and Lumentum (LITE) dropped 9% to $770.53. The Roundhill Photonics & Optics ETF (LYTE) lost 10%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell only 2%, suggesting group-wide caution. The article notes these shares still sit higher for the year, and Lumentum's CEO said its data center optical components are sold out for years. Quarterly reports from the three companies arriving in coming weeks will show whether capacity can keep pace with demand.
- Does SpaceX’s $8 Billion Spectrum Deal Mean Verizon’s Q3 Earnings Don’t Really Matter?
Verizon reports third-quarter results on October 26, days after SpaceX announced a roughly $8 billion deal for nationwide 800 MHz spectrum, which the author says makes the report more important. Last quarter, Verizon beat with adjusted EPS of $1.30 against a $1.27 consensus, while revenue fell 0.7% to $34.25 billion as equipment revenue dropped nearly 20% on a deliberate pullback on subsidies. The core business improved, with 184,000 postpaid phone net adds, churn at 0.92%, and a record 40.1% adjusted EBITDA margin, and full-year adjusted EPS guidance was raised to $4.99 to $5.04. The author will watch whether service revenue growth nears 3% in Q3 and about 4% in Q4, and whether consumer postpaid phone churn of 84 basis points holds as SpaceX's service is expected to start in early 2028 after the deal closes in the first half of 2027.
- Altimeter’s Gerstner: Scale wins superintelligence race as SpaceX plans $400B compute buildout
Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner says whoever has the most scale, capital, compute and data will win the race to superintelligence, as SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) closed at $159.31 on October 21, up 7.79%, after reporting third-quarter revenue of $14.60 billion. He says Elon Musk plans 10 GW of computing power next year, about 25% of U.S. capacity additions and roughly $400 billion of capital, with SpaceX now installing 200,000 GB300 chips a month. Gerstner sees a possible merger with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) mainly as a way to finance that spending, and he argues that lenders value standard NVIDIA GPUs more easily than custom chips, giving NVIDIA pricing power when credit is tight. The article warns that SPCX shareholders bear spending, depreciation and execution risks at a $2.10 trillion market cap.
- Bloom Energy Sinks 9% as Pre-Earnings Rally Reverses; FuelCell Drops 6%, Plug Power Falls 3%
Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) shares fell 9% to $218.09 in afternoon trading, giving back their October 21 gain as caution builds ahead of its third-quarter 2026 report. FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) dropped 6% to $12.36 and Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) fell 3% to $1.37, with the Global X Hydrogen ETF (NASDAQ:HYDR) down 4% and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) off 1%. The article links the size of each drop to how heavily each company depends on data center demand, since Bloom Energy sells fuel cell systems for on-site data center power while FuelCell builds utility-scale plants and Plug Power focuses on hydrogen for warehouse and industrial users. After a large run this year, Bloom Energy's expectations are elevated, and its report will show whether margins keep pace with data center demand.
- Could a Tesla-SpaceX merger really be the next big move for Elon Musk?
Two speakers discuss a possible Tesla-SpaceX merger and the outlook for Tesla stock. Speaker A argues that SpaceX, which he calls a vertically integrated AI company, would make a powerful combination, and says he will keep focusing on Tesla's Megapack business, which is sold out in utility-grade battery storage, as well as Optimus. He says he bought in at about $100 a share three years ago and sees volatility as a friend given his long-term perspective. Speaker B views Tesla's recent results as mixed to negative, with profit down over 40%, flat revenue, and better free cash flow mainly because capital spending was cut. He says Tesla is behind Waymo in autonomous driving (800 versus 8,000) and behind China in humanoid robots, and suggests a merger could be interesting and might benefit Tesla shareholders.
- Behind Vingroup's appeal: The lead bird driving Vietnam's stock market
Vingroup (VIC) shares rose more than 11% over two consecutive sessions, adding over 40 points to the VN-Index, while the Vingroup group (VIC, VHM, VPL, VRE) contributed 54 points, or 80% of the index's gain over those two sessions. On October 22 alone, foreign investors net bought VND 240 billion of VIC, the largest on the exchange, and VND 160 billion of VHM. This inflow follows FTSE Russell's upgrade of Vietnam to secondary emerging market status from September 21, with emerging-market ETFs potentially investing over USD 2 billion through September 2027, nearly USD 1 billion of which could go to VIC and VHM. The article also cites private-sector growth prospects, the government's goal of double-digit GDP growth for 2026–2030, and State Bank of Vietnam measures to lower lending and deposit rates as supportive factors for large conglomerates like Vingroup.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.