By MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writer

New U.S. jobless claim applications fell last week, remaining within the healthy range of recent years, according to the government’s first weekly layoffs data since before the government shut down on Oct. 1.

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The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Nov. 15 fell by 8,000 from the previous week to 220,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Data for the weeks covering the government shutdown also remained in the same range of recent years, falling between 200,000 and 250,000.

Also Thursday, the Labor Department said in a separate report that U.S. employers added a surprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, the highest since October 2021, however that’s partly because 470,000 people entered the labor market.

The increase in September payrolls was more than double the 50,000 economists had forecast. But Labor Department revisions shaved 33,000 jobs off July and August payrolls.

The monthly jobs report — considered the most important market-moving data on the U.S. employment situation — had been delayed for seven weeks by the federal government shutdown.

During the 43-day shutdown, investors, businesses, policymakers and the Federal Reserve were without much of the figures they use to diagnose the health of the American job market because federal workers had been furloughed and couldn’t collect the data.

Thursday’s labor market reports come at a time of considerable uncertainty about the economy. The job market has been strained by the lingering effects of high interest rates and uncertainty around Trump’s erratic tariff policies, though economic growth at midyear was resilient.

Fed policymakers are divided over whether to cut interest rates for the third time this year when they meet in December for the final time this year.

Some major companies have announced job cuts this year, including Procter & Gamble, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Google and Facebook parent company Meta. Intel and The Walt Disney Co. also recently announced staff reductions, as have Verizon, General Motors,American Airlines and Amazon.

Thursday’s report on weekly layoffs showed that the four-week average of claims, which softens some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 3,000 to 224,250.

The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the week ending Nov. 8 jumped to 1.97 million, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week.

MINNESOTA at NORTHWESTERN

When: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: KFAN, 100.3 FM
Weather: 47 degrees, partly sunny, 7 mph east wind
Betting spread: Northwestern, minus-3.5

Records: The Gophers fell to 6-4 overall, 4-3 in Big Ten play with a 42-13 loss at No. 8 Oregon last Friday. Northwestern dropped to 5-5, 3-4 with a 24-22 defeat to No. 18 on a last-second field goal at Wrigley Field.

History: In 2023, the Wildcats staked a 21-point comeback to beat Minnesota 37-34 in overtime at Ryan Field. Minnesota had won three in a row before that and lead the all-time series at 56-37-5.

Stat: 0-7. Northwestern’s record at Wrigley Field since 1923. The Wildcats are playing a few games at the Chicago Cubs’ venue while their new $862 million Ryan Field is being constructed on campus in Evanston.

Big question: Can the Gophers win a single road game this season? Minnesota is currently 0-4, dropping games to California, No. 1 Ohio State, Iowa and No. 8 Oregon.

Key matchup: To win, Minnesota must stop the run. “It will be a classic Big Ten game,” Gophers DC Danny Collins. The Wildcats are rarely stuffed for lost yards (36 plays for loss are eighth fewest in nation), and RB Caleb Komolafe is sixth in Big Ten with 757 yards and nine TDs. RB Joseph Himon II has 428 yards.

Who has the edge?

Gophers offense vs. Northwestern defense: Under David Braun, the Wildcats have kept up the tough defensive identity forged under ex-coach Pat Fitzgerald. They are allowing 19.6 points per game, which is good for 23rd in the country. … Minnesota benefited from an explosive return of all-purpose back Darius Taylor against Oregon. He led the U in targets (nine) and rushes (10). “Love having him back,” OC Greg Harbaugh said. Taylor, who has missed most of four games this season, helps redshirt freshman QB Drake Lindsey immensely. … Against Michigan, Northwestern won the turnover battle 5-0 and still lost. That evened their season differential: 15 takeaways, 15 giveaways. … SAF Robert Fitzgerald — no relation to Pat — has caught Harbaugh’s attention, especially in the run game, where he had an outstanding grade of 88.9, according to Pro Football Focus. He leads the team with 92 total tackles and will be keyed on in the U gameplan. … Koi Perich got his first touches on offense since Week 3 at Cal, with two rushes for 11 yards in Eugene. The sophomore SAF has been slowly rebuilding a role on offense. … Edge Michael Kilbane has been a surprise pass rusher with 34 total pressures, while RT Dylan Ray has allowed a team-high 24 this season. EDGE: Northwestern

Gophers defense vs. Northwestern offense: The Wildcats were expected to struggle mightily this fall. “The offensive problems are as bad as ever,” an anonymous Big Ten assistant was quoted in Athlon’s preseason magazine. But they have been slightly better, scoring 21.9 points per game (110th in nation), up from 17.9 (128th) a year ago. … Transfer QB Preston Stone had a 35 total touchdowns and eight interceptions over four years at Southern Methodist, but has 11 TDs and nine picks this fall.  The Gophers, meanwhile, haven’t picked off a pass in four straight games. … South Dakota State transfer WR Griffin Wilde is the go-to target with twice as many targets as any teammate this season. He has 45 grabs (71 targets) for 644 yards and five TDs. He lines up all over the field. “Very dynamic,” Collins said. While CBs Mike Gerald and Za’Quan Bryan returned from injuries last week, the U still counted on senior Jai’Onte’ McMillan, a converted nickel/safety, and regular CB John Nestor to play most of the corner reps versus the Ducks. … Edge Anthony Smith has 9 1/2 sacks this season and can be the first U player to reach double digits since Willie VanDeSteeg in 2008. LT Caleb Tiernan is a top NFL prospect in the nation and has a sterling 87.8 pass-blocking grade, per PFF, but RT Martes Lewis, who transferred away from the Gophers last spring, has been decent at 68.8, per PFF. EDGE: Gophers

Special teams: Northwestern’s two kickers have made nearly 90% of field goals, while the U’s Brady Denaburg is at 76%. … Perich hasn’t had a big kick or punt return since a 56-yard kick return against Rutgers in late September. … The Gophers have blocked one field goal this year, while Northwestern has had one attempt blocked. … Denaburg’s big leg for touchbacks on kickoffs keeps opponents from trying returns. EDGE: Gophers 

Prediction: The over-under point total of 40.5 seems fitting for what is shaping up to be a real slobber knocker. The Gophers will find just enough creative (and repetitious) ways to get the ball to Taylor in space to earn their first road win. Gophers, 19-17. 

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By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a surprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, the government said, issuing a key economic report that had been delayed for seven weeks by the federal government shutdown.

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The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in September, highest since October 2021 and up from 4.3% in August, the Labor Department said Thursday. The unemployment rate rose partly because 470,000 people entered the labor market — either working or looking for work — in September and not all of them found jobs right away.

The increase in payrolls was more than double the 50,000 economists had forecast. But Labor Department revisions showed that the economy lost 4,000 jobs in August instead of gaining 22,000 as originally reported. Altogether, revisions shaved 33,000 jobs off July and August payrolls.

Healthcare and social assistance firms added more than 57,000 jobs in September, construction companies 19,000 and retailers almost 14,000. But factories shed 6,000 jobs and the federal government lost 3,000.

Average hourly wages rose just 0.2% from August and 3.8% from a year earlier, edging closer to the 3.5% year-over-year increase that the Federal Reserve’s inflation fighters like to see.

During the 43-day U.S. government shutdown, investors, businesses, policymakers and the Federal Reserve were groping in the dark for clues about the health of the American job market because federal workers had been furloughed and couldn’t collect the data.

The report comes at a time of considerable uncertainty about the economy. The job market has been strained by the lingering effects of high interest rates and uncertainty around Trump’s erratic campaign to slap taxes on imports from almost every country on earth. But economic growth at midyear was resilient.

Fed policymakers are divided over whether to cut interest rates for the third time this year when they meet next month.

Economists expected to see a continuation of what was happening in the spring and summer: weak hiring but few layoffs, an awkward pairing that means Americans who have work mostly enjoy job security – but those who don’t often struggle to find employment.

The job market has been strained this year by the lingering effects of high interest rates engineered to fight a 2021-2022 spike in inflation and uncertainty around Trump’s campaign to slap taxes on imports from almost every country on earth and on specific products — from copper to foreign films.

Labor Department revisions in September showed that the economy created 911,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the year that ended in March. That meant that employers added an average of just 71,000 new jobs a month over that period, not the 147,000 first reported.

Since March, job creation has slowed even more — to an average 53,000 a month. During the 2021-2023 hiring boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns, by contrast, the economy was creating 400,000 jobs a month.

President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration is expected to reduce the number of people looking for work, which means that the economy can create fewer jobs without sending the unemployment rate higher.

With September numbers out, businesses, investors, policymakers and the Fed will have to wait awhile to get another good look at the numbers behind the American labor market.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that it won’t won’t release a full jobs report for October because it couldn’t calculate the unemployment rate during the government shutdown.

Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data — including the number of jobs that employers created last month — along with the full November jobs report on Dec. 16, a couple of weeks late.

That puts an even more intense focus on September jobs numbers released Thursday. They are the last full measurement of hiring and unemployment that Fed policymakers will see before they meet Dec. 9-10 to decide whether to cut their benchmark interest rate for the third time this year.

AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.

By TERESA CEROJANO and MATT OTT, Associated Press

Wall Street surged on Thursday after Nvidia reported stronger than expected quarterly earnings, tempering worries that AI-related stocks may have become overvalued.

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Futures for the S&P 500 were up 1.1% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%. Futures for the Nasdaq shot 1.6% higher.

The market’s focus remained on Nvidia as Wall Street’s most influential stock jumped 5.1% overnight after the chipmaker reported third-quarter earnings of $31.9 billion. That’s a 65% increase over last year and more than analysts were expecting.

The Santa Clara, California company also forecast revenue for the current quarter covering November-January will come in at about $65 billion, nearly $3 billion above analysts’ projections, an indication that demand for its AI chips remains feverish.

Nvidia is the most valuable company by market capitalization on Wall Street, having briefly topped $5 trillion in value. That means its movements have more of an effect on the S&P 500 than any other stock, and it can single-handedly steer the index’s direction some days.

By continuing to deliver big profits for investors, Nvidia has mostly quieted recent criticism that its shares shot too high, too fast.

Nvidia has become a bellwether for the broader frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, because other companies are using its chips to ramp up their AI efforts.

Walmart also reported its latest quarterly results Thursday. The Arkansas retailer delivered another standout quarter, posting strong sales and profits that blew past Wall Street expectations as it continues to lure cash-strapped Americans who have grown increasingly anxious about the economy and prices.

With other retailers dialing back projections, the nation’s largest retailer raised its financial outlook Thursday after its strong third quarter, setting itself up for a strong holiday shopping season.

Traders also made their final moves ahead of a September jobs report coming from the U.S. government on Thursday. The labor market data, usually released during the first week of every month, was delayed due to the six-week federal government shutdown.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that it will not be releasing a full jobs report for October because the 43-day shutdown meant it couldn’t calculate the unemployment rate and some other key numbers.

The job market has been slowing enough this year that the Fed has already cut its main interest rate twice. Lower rates can give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, and the expectation on Wall Street had been for more cuts, including at the Fed’s next meeting in December.

But some Fed officials are hinting that they should pause next month, in part because inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed’s 2% target. Lower interest rates can worsen inflation.

At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX rose 0.8%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 and the CAC 40 in Paris each added 0.6%.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index initially surged as much as 4.2% before giving up some early gains. It closed nearly 2.7% higher at 49,823.94 as technology stocks rallied, with investor sentiment boosted by Nvidia’s strong quarterly results after trading closed in the U.S.

South Korea’s Kospi added 1.9% to 4,004.85, with gains led by technology and energy stocks. Investors were encouraged by Nvidia’s earnings and reports that the U.S. may delay planned semiconductor tariffs.

Samsung Electronics gained 4.2%, while SK Hynix added 1.6%.

Chinese markets ended mixed as reports said the government might be planning more measures to try to revive the ailing property sector.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was barely changed at 25,835.57, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4% to 3,931.05 after China’s central bank kept its one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3% and 3.5%, respectively.

Taiwan’s Taiex closed 3.2% higher while India’s BSE Sensex added nearly 0.7%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.2% to 8,552.70, also led by gains for technology stocks.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude oil gained 59 cents, or 1%, to $59.61 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 62 cents to $64.13 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar climbed to 157.66 Japanese yen from 157.06 yen. It has been trading at nearly the highest level this year on expectations that the government will delay efforts to rein in Japan’s national debt as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises spending to help spur the economy.

The euro fell to $1.1515 from $1.1538.