The U.S. unemployment rate remained stable at around 4.3% in October according to a Chicago Federal Reserve bank economic model that uses private data to estimate the jobless rate even in the absence of government statistics that have been unavailable since the start of an ongoing federal shutdown.

The Chicago Fed estimates that October's unemployment rate is 4.35%, just a tick higher than 4.34% in September, but noticeably higher than 4.14% in October 2024, the regional Federal Reserve Bank said on Monday.

New data suggests that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped to around 218,000 in the week ending October 25, down from a revised 231,000 the previous week, according to figures from the Labor Department reported by Bloomberg.

The reserve bank’s real-time unemployment rate forecast projects unemployment of 4.35% in October, versus 4.34% in September.

The rate cut could gradually reduce costs for mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, and business borrowing, offering some relief to consumers and companies.

After surviving breast cancer and sending out nearly 800 job applications, Fairburn resident Shana Pinnock Glover is still searching for work — a struggle shared by thousands of Black women amid a growing unemployment crisis.

Mexico's unemployment rate rose in September compared to the previous month, even though the size of the national workforce increased by more than 700,000 positions.

Unemployment estimates little changed The Chicago Fed Real-Time Unemployment Rate Forecast estimates the U. S.