The average number of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims over the past four weeks was unchanged at 392,250, the department said. The four-week average had declined by 19,000 in the previous four weeks to an eight-month low.
In the week ending Oct. 18, new claims dropped by 4,000 to 386,000, equaling an eight-month low set four weeks earlier. The four-week average is considered a better gauge of the state of the labor market than the weekly number.
Claims around 385,000 to 390,000 have "historically been consistent with essentially a stagnant labor market," said Joshua Shapiro, chief economist for MFR.
A department spokesman could identify no special factors that affected the claims data, including strikes in California. "The seasonal adjustment worked well," he said.
Meanwhile, the number of Americans collecting state benefits fell 84,000 to a six-month low of 3.54 million in the week ending Oct. 11.
"The decline in continuing claims could be the first spark of a revival in job creation," said Sophia Koropeckyj, an economist at Economy.com.
"While it is highly likely that some of these people are obtaining jobs, we think the mild trend lower here is more due to people falling off the rolls as their benefits expire," Shapiro said. "Otherwise, monthly payrolls would be growing more."
The insured unemployment rate - the percentage of all eligible workers who received benefit checks - dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 2.8 percent, a six-week low.
In addition, about 840,000 workers are receiving extended federal benefits, which are available to workers who have exhausted their state benefits, typically after 26 weeks. The federal program is set to expire at the end of the year.
In September, 2.1 million Americans had been out of work longer than six months, 23.2 percent of the 9 million who are officially classified as unemployed.
The most recent data cover from the same week the Labor Department surveys businesses and households for its monthly employment report. Economists look for little change in hiring in October, after a small 57,000 increase in payrolls in September. The October data will be released Nov. 7.
The initial claims data cover layoffs and other involuntary discharges, while the employment report covers net job losses or gains.
Economists say the bulk of the evidence points to a stabilization in layoffs, but no significant increase in hiring yet. The recovery will be two years old next month.
"The main reason for people to call this an authentic or lasting move is because of their forecast that things are getting better," said Bob Brusca, chief economist for EcoBest Consulting. "But that should be recognized as the circular reasoning that it is."
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