US initial jobless claims fall by 6,000

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 15 August, according to the Labor Department, with initial claims coming in below expectations. Initial claims fell by 6,000 to 206,000, better than expectations for a reading of 210,000, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, was up by 4,250 week-on-week at 204,000.

Continuing claims also rose, up by 18,000 week-on-week at 1.79m.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate came to 1.2% for the week ended 8 August, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.













Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com