New US applications for unemployment benefits drop last week: JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs

Estimates by JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs point to a drop in new US applications for unemployment benefits last week, though a softer hiring pace is keeping many on jobless rolls.

Their economists project initial state jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 217,000 in the week ended Oct. 11, from 235,000 in the previous week.

The projections come amid a halt to the release of official economic data, with the US federal government shutdown entering its third week due to a partisan standoff in Washington.

Despite the shutdown, states continue to collect claims figures and feed them into a Labor Department database that remains accessible. Economists use these unadjusted readings and previously published seasonal factors to derive their estimates.