Unemployment claims for the first time fell to a 50-year low in the week ending Sept. 15, a Labor Department report on Thursday unexpectedly showed.
The Labor Department said jobless claims fell to 201,000, down 3,000 from the previous week’s unadjusted 204,000. Economists had expected rising claims for unemployed to 210, 000.
With the unexpected decline, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since reaching 197,000 in November 1969. The four-week moving average also declined by 2250 to 205.50, falling to its lowest level since December 1969.
Continuous claims, a reading of the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also fell by 55,000 to 1.1645 million in the week ending September 8, the report said.
The decline led to continuing claims to fall to a record low of 1.633 million in August 1973. The four-week moving average for continuing claims fell to a 45-year low of 1,691,500, down 20.750 from The average rate of the previous week of 1,712,250.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 200 points to open a new record high
After the data, the Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 200 points shortly after the opening bell on Thursday to a new all-time high, marking its first record since January this year. The Dow’s new record high is in spite of the ongoing US-China trade dispute, which involves the exchange of punitive trade measures between the world’s two largest economies.
Earlier this week, Washington announced a new set of tariffs on Chinese imports worth 200 billion dollars, and Beijing responded with countermeasures aimed at US products worth 60 billion dollars.
