U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Dip To 203,000

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a modest decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 22nd.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 203,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 207,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 208,000 from the 206,000 originally reported for the previous week.

"The jobless claims data continue to be consistent with our view that the labor market is broadly in balance, with both the demand and supply of workers relatively soft, while layoffs remain low," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

She added, "Initial jobless claims were a little lower than expected in the week August 22, with no real sign of a rise in claims in states affected by recent wildfires."

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average inched up to 205,500, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 204,250.

The Labor Department said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment benefits, fell by 18,000 to 1.778 million in the week ended August 15th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims still crept up to 1,788,500, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 1,788,250.

"Continued claims are noisier than initial claims and a decline in the week ended August 15 reversed an increase in the prior week," said Vanden Houten. "Like initial claims, continued claims remain well below prior year levels."

Next Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in the month of August.