The United States is unemployed at age 49 for the third week in a row

It was the third week in a row that claims have hit the lowest level since December 1969.

Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal waited for 210,000 new requests last week.

Hurricane Florence hit the ground on Friday morning in North Carolina. Some businesses were closed before the storm and others were closed due to damage and floods. In many cases, these closures have made workers eligible to claim unemployment benefits.

However, the extent to which the storm has disrupted the labor market in the South will probably not be visible for several weeks. Seasonally adjusted claims data are released with a lag of one week. Non-seasonally adjusted data showed that the number of claims filed in North Carolina and South Carolina declined last week from the previous week. Claims in Virginia have increased.

None of these states have estimated their number of applications, as sometimes happens when the weather causes disturbances in a state. An official from the Labor Department said there was no indication that the storm had affected the handling of claims in any hurricane-affected state. Claims in Hawaii were estimated last week.

The effects of the storm may have made it difficult for the affected workers to file claims. Workers do not need to claim benefits the same week they lose their jobs.

Thursday's report said the four-week moving average of claims, a more stable measure, fell from 2,250 to 205.70 last week. It was also the lowest level since 1969.

Unemployment claims have remained low in recent years as the labor market continues to tighten and leaders struggle to find qualified employees. The unemployment rate has almost reached its lowest level in 18 years in recent months.

Claims for more than a week decreased from 55,000 to 1,645,000 in the week ending September 8th. This figure, also known as recurring claims, is reported with a lag of one week.

Write to Eric Morath at [email protected]