US Initial Jobless Claims Beat Expectations at 197,000 Signaling Labor Market Resilience

United States initial jobless claims stood at 197,000 for the week ending September 26, beating market forecasts of 199,000 to 200,000. The reading follows a prior week figure revised up to 198,000 from 197,000, while the four-week moving average dropped to 200,000. Continuing claims fell to 1.701 million for the week ending September 19, below expectations and down from a revised 1.712 million to 1.719 million. The insured unemployment rate held unchanged at 1.1%, reinforcing signs of contained layoffs ahead of key manufacturing data and Federal Reserve speeches.