US weekly jobless claims surge amid Hurricane Helene distortions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits surged last week, partially boosted by Hurricane Helene and furloughs at Boeing amid a nearly four-week-old strike at the U.S. planemaker.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 33,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 258,000 for the week ended October. 5, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims for the latest week. There were large increases in unadjusted claims in North Carolina and Florida and claims also rose in Washington state. Helene, which tore through Florida and devastated large swathes of the U.S. Southeast in late September, is likely to continue distorting claims data in the weeks ahead.

The labor market's short-term outlook is also likely to be distorted by Hurricane Milton, which barreled through Florida on Thursday, whipping up deadly tornadoes, destroying homes and knocking out power.

Though striking workers are not eligible for unemployment benefits, their industrial action is rippling through the supply chain and other businesses dependent on Boeing, causing temporary layoffs.

Boeing has announced temporary furloughs of tens of thousands of employees. The roughly 33,000 machinists at Boeing who walked off the job last month could negatively impact October's employment report, which is due to be released days before the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by the most in six months in September with the unemployment rate falling to 4.1% from 4.2% in August. 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 U.S. central bank last month cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large 50 basis points to the 4.75%-5.00% range, the first reduction in borrowing costs since 2020, highlighting rising risks to the labor market.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, increased 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.861 million during the week ending Sept. 28, the claims report showed.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)