New applications for unemployment benefits plunged to 260,000 in the last week of September, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The 12,000 drop in jobless claims was even bigger than forecasters expected, as the economy appeared to regain its footing after being temporarily upset by storms. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria all affected the numbers, the Labor Department said. Claims in Texas and Florida, though, were declining at the end of September, undoing a spike from when the storms hit.

Lower jobless claims are a good sign for the economy. If fewer people are showing up to state unemployment agencies to collect benefits, it suggests that layoffs are low and that job creation is high. Investors and Federal Reserve officials pay close attention to the numbers because they are published every week.

Thursday's report will improve expectations for the September jobs report, which will be released Friday morning. Previously, economists had expected to see around 100,000 new payroll jobs in the month, the first to capture the effects of the storms.

Economists calculate that claims under around the 300,000 mark go along with steady or falling unemployment. Although Harvey and Irma sent claims very close, the economy hasn't hit 300,000 new claims since the end of February 2015.

In that time, the unemployment rate has tumbled from from 5.5 percent to 4.4 percent, tied for the lowest mark since the spring of 2001.

President Trump touted the unemployment figures on Twitter Thursday before the jobless claims numbers were published.

Stock Market hits an ALL-TIME high! Unemployment lowest in 16 years! Business and manufacturing enthusiasm at highest level in decades! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2017

Earlier this month, officials at the Federal Reserve predicted that the labor market will continue to strengthen, and that the hurricanes were "unlikely to materially alter the course of the national economy over the medium term."