US jobless claims fall to 203,000

(Sharecast News) - Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 22 August, according to the Labor Department, with initial jobless claims dropping by 4,000 to 203,000. Last week's reading was below market expectations of rise to 208,000, holding the trend of low claim counts since dropping to an almost 60-year low of 189,000 in mid-July.

Elsewhere, continuing claims fell by 18,000 to 1.778m, also below expectations, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, rose by 1,250 to 205,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ended 15 August, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.









Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com