US initial jobless claims dip by 1,000 as labour market holds firm

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 5 September, according to the Labor Department, extending recent resilience in the labour market. Initial jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 206,000, broadly aligned with expectations for a print of 205,000 and in keeping with a recent run of low claim counts since hitting an almost 60-year low of 189,000 in mid July. The prior week's reading was upwardly revised by 1,000 to 207,000.

Continuing claims eased by 1,000 week-on-week to 1.77m, below expectations of 1.78m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, also came in at 206,000, a decrease of 1,500 from the prior week.

The Labor Department also said the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ended 29 August, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com