US initial jobless claims fall in first week of February

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 8 February, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims fell by 8,000 to 213,000 in the first week of February, better than the smaller decline of 6,000 predicted by analysts, while continuing claims dropped by 36,000 to 1.85m, also beating forecasts of 1.88m.

The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 1,000 to 216,000, and the non-seasonally adjusted claims count dropped by 11,000 to 231,000.

The largest increases for initial claims were seen in New York, California and Georgia, while the biggest decreases were in New Jersey and Massachusetts.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com