Daily Roundup of Key US Economic Data for Nov. 5

03:02 PM EST, 11/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Nonfarm productivity rose by 3.6% in Q3 after a 2.1% gain in Q2, reflecting faster output growth and slower hours worked growth. As a result of the larger gain in productivity and slower compensation growth, unit labor costs fell by 0.7% after a 1.9% gain in the previous quarter. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported 43,994 layoff intentions in October, up from 43,281 in September but down from 153,074 a year earlier. The food sector led layoff intentions in the month. At the same time, an announcement from Amazon that they intend to hire 300,000 seasonal workers this year lifted hiring plans in October. "This is a low-fire environment," said Andy Challenger, the company's chief revenue officer. "Employers are holding on to the workers they have heading into the holidays, and the hiring they are announcing is largely short-term, seasonal work. Companies want the flexibility to meet holiday demand without adding permanent headcount." Initial jobless claims decreased by 6,000 to 189,000 in the week ended Oct. 31, the lowest level since July, lowering the four-week moving average by 2,250 to 194,750, a third straight decrease. Insured claims rose by 23,000 to 1.718 million in the week ended Oct. 24. Natural gas stocks rose by 77 billion cubic feet to 3.801 trillion cubic feet in the week ended Oct. 30, down 2.8% from a year earlier but 1.4% higher than the seasonal average for the current week over the previous five years.