US Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending September 20

On Thursday, the US Department of Labor reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 218,000 for the week ending Saturday, September 20, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 232,000 (originally 231,000). The four-week moving average was 237,500—a decrease of 2,750 from the prior week’s revised average of 240,250 (originally 240,000).

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending September 13 was 1,926,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,928,000 (originally 1,920,000). The four-week moving average was 1,930,000—a decrease of 4,500 from the prior week’s revised average of 1,934,500 (originally 1,932,500).

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3% for the week ending September 13, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.