Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 33,000 last ... Economists expect Federal Reserve officials will discount any sharp decline in payrolls or rise in the unemployment rate and deliver a 25 basis points interest rate cut in November.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose marginally last week, but Hurricane Helene's rampage in the U.S. Southeast and strikes at Boeing and ports could distort the labor market picture in the near term.

Applications for jobless benefits are widely considered representative of U.S. layoffs in a given week, however they can be volatile and prone to revision. The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of that weekly volatility, rose by 6,750 to ...