Financial News: U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Dip To 206,000

U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Dip To 206,000

(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits expectedly declined in the week ended August 15th.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 206,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 212,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 211,000 from the 209,000 originally reported for the previous week.

"Initial jobless claims fell to 206,000 in the week ended August 15, with little sign of increased unemployment in states affected by recent wildfires," said Matthew Martin, Senior U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

He added, "Demand for workers remains soft, but supply has weakened and the labor market remains roughly in balance."

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 204,000, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average of 199,750.

The report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment benefits, also climbed by 18,000 to 1.799 million in the week ended August 8th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also edged up to 1,789,000, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,786,500.

"Continued claims have bounced around over the past month and a half, but the four-week moving average remains 8% below prior year levels," said Martin.

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