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Economists forecast that initial jobless claims - the first-time filings for insurance - were little changed last week at 256,000, compared to 258,000 prior.
Initial jobless claims are used as a real-time proxy for the pace of layoffs and the overall health of the labor market, since people usually file for benefits soon after they lose their jobs.
The current level of claims is near the lowest it's been since the 1970s.
On Friday, the Labor Department will publish the October jobs report, forecast to show that the US economy added 175,000 nonfarm payrolls.