US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending August 31st

On Thursday, the US Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 227,000 during the week ending Saturday, August 31st. This is a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 232,000 (originally 231,000). The 4-week moving average was 230,000—a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 231,750 (originally 231,500).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment, known as continuing claims, during the week ending August 24th was 1,838,000. This is a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 1,860,000 (originally 1,868,000). The 4-week moving average was 1,853,000—a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,861,250 (originally 1,863,250).

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending August 24th, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.