The numbers: Initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 217,000 in the week ending Nov. 9, the Labor Department said Thursday. It is the lowest level of claims since May.  

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would fall by 1,000 to 220,000. 

Last week claims were unrevised at an increase of 3,000 to 221,000.

Claims have fallen for four out of the past five weeks.

Key details:  The number of new claims based on actual filings — that is, before seasonal adjustments — jumped by 16,735 to 229,478  in the latest week.  There were 217,438 initial claims in the comparable week one year ago.

The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits in the week of Nov. 2 fell by 11,000 to 1.87 million, the government said.

Big picture: Companies may not be hiring at the same pace as earlier in the year — but they are also not firing workers.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said earlier this week that companies remember the pain of not having enough workers during the pandemic and employers tell him they don’t want to get caught short again.

Looking ahead: “Fed policy is aimed at supporting the economy and the job market before a recession shapes up. There is no call for radical monetary easing in today’s figures…or in any labor market indicator for that matter,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics.

Market reaction: Stocks DJIA -0.47% were set to open higher on Thursday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y 4.466%slipped to 4.439%.