Unemployment Claims Down 5K, Better Than Expected

In the week ending August 31st, initial jobless claims were at a seasonally adjusted level of 227,000, falling to a two-month low. This represents a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's figure and is better than the 231,000 economists were expecting.

Here is the opening statement from the Department of Labor:

In the week ending August 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 227,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 231,000 to 232,000. The 4-week moving average was 230,000, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 231,500 to 231,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending August 24, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 24 was 1,838,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 8,000 from 1,868,000 to 1,860,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,853,000, a decrease of 8,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 2,000 from 1,863,250 to 1,861,250.