Weekly jobless number falls to 837,000, slightly lower than expected figure

The number of U.S. workers who applied for first-time unemployment benefits last week was 837,000, according to newly released data Thursday from the Labor Department. 

The figure was slightly lower than the expected 850,000 number. It has remained below 1 million for the past five weeks. 

The U.S. economy has reclaimed about half the jobs originally lost during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March and April, when weekly unemployment figures reached a record roughly 7 million. 

The department on Friday will release the much anticipated non-farm payrolls report, which is expected to show a gain of 800,000 for September. The unemployment rate, now at 8.2%, is expected to drop slightly.