US jobless claims drop to 224,000

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 9 August, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims dropped to 224,000, down from the prior week's upwardly revised 227,000 print, versus market expectations of an increase to 228,000, while continuing claims decreased by 15,000 to 1.953m, better than the 1.96m print expected by economists.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, increased by 750 from the previous week's revised level to 221,750.

Also worth noting, the Labor Department said the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.3% for the week ended 2 August, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com